The West Baton Rouge Parish Museum presents Testimony of Fire: Frederick Douglass’s Connection to Louisiana Politics from January 17 through March 13. This exhibition will highlight Frederick Douglass as an orator, abolitionist, author, women’s suffragist and a civil rights activist who corroborated with President Lincoln on the abolition of slavery in addition to suffrage, citizenship, and military service for African Americans.  Douglass had a dynamic connection to Louisiana through politics and public policy.  Frederick Douglass was a key figure in persuading President Lincoln to use Louisiana as a model state in the Reconstruction Plan.  His was an important voice for black suffrage not only in Louisiana but nationally as well.  Douglass dedicated himself to black civil rights, women’s suffrage, and human rights.

The exhibit looks at the life of Frederick Douglass from his childhood in slavery through his last years as a public figure as the great reformer. Testimony of Fire focuses on Douglass’s little known yet significant connections to Louisiana in the Civil War era. An outstanding collection of artifacts on loan from the Frederick Douglass House in Washington D.C. including Douglass’s hat, walking stick and publications make this an original in-depth look at the life and impact of Frederick Douglass.