BOOK CLUB II

The memoirs of Frederick Douglass

Fri, Oct 27 2023, 2pm

Location
Event to be held via Zoom.
 

The Fourth Friday Book Club will meet from 2 to 3:30 p.m. CDT on October 27 to discuss the life and narrative of Frederick Douglass.

Among the Frederick Douglass memoirs are

  • My Bondage and My Freedom 
  • Life and Times of Frederick Douglass 
  • Frederick Douglass: Speeches and Writings 
  • The Portable Frederick Douglass, edited by John Stauffer and Henry Louis Gates Jr.


The Portable Frederick Douglass includes the full range of Douglass' works, the full narrative of Douglass' life, extracts from My Bondage and My Freedom, and the many brilliant speeches that launched Douglass' political career—regarded as the greatest oratory of the Civil War era. 

What the Slave is to the Fourth of July was delivered on July 5, 1852. (Douglass insisted he would not appear on July 4 and chose July 5.) It is no exaggeration to say this speech is the most damning critique of American hypocrisy (his words) ever spoken.

The life of Frederick Douglass is a wholly exceptional story of self-determination and advancement. He was born in 1817 or 1818, with an enslaved mother consigned to households other than where the baby lived. His father, likely a white man, was unknown.  “Genealogical trees do not flourish among slaves,” to quote Douglass. 

Douglass was the most photographed American of any race in the 19th century, both in the United States and in Europe. 

At about age 20, he escaped slavery. Douglass traveled widely as a celebrated abolitionist advocate. Despite this, he was routinely ejected from whites-only railroad cars, restaurants, and lodgings.

Douglass wrote analyses of court opinions that remain in constitutional law casebooks; he was widely published in newspaper and magazine columns, and hundreds of pamphlets on topics that included women's equality, history, philosophy, literature, art, and international affairs.

The Fourth Friday Book Club welcomes all UMRA members! For more information, please email Dorothy Marden  or Maggie Catambay



Upcoming Events

Event Date: July 15, 2024, at 9:30am

Our July 15 "hike" is going to be a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles!  If you don't have a kayak (or paddleboard), Wheel Fun Rentals, located next to the new concession stand rents single kayaks at $15 an hour and double kayaks at $25.  The second hour is free if we rent before noon.  Life jackets are provided with the rental.


Event Date: July 19, 2024, at 2pm

Laura Ericksen will lead the discussion of How Stella Learned to Talk by Christina Hunger, a true story by a speech-language pathologist who taught her dog, Stella, to communicate using buttons associated with different words.


Event Date: August 5, 2024, at 9:30am

Our August 5 hike will be a reprise of our hike last summer at William O'Brien State Park.  This is a beautiful park with a winding trail and a great view of the countryside.  The hike is about 5.5 to 6 miles and we'll go at a moderate pace with frequent water breaks.  After the hike, we will eat lunch at Rustic Roots Winery, a half mile north of the park. 


Event Date: August 16, 2024, at 2pm

Kathy Cramer will lead the discussion of The Bookbinder by Pip Williams, a book set in 1914 Oxford chronicling the life of Peggy who works in the University bindery, but craves a life beyond binding books but to being a scholar herself.


Event Date: August 28, 2024, at 5:30pm

Enjoy a two-hour cruise on the Jonathan Padelford, leaving from the Harriet Island dock in St. Paul, boarding time at 5:30 p.m. We will have a brief program on board by Patrick Nunnally from the River Life Program of the Institute on the Environment.


Event Date: August 31, 2024, at 11:59pm

August 31 is the due date for annual reports and updates.  Annual Reports, Toolkits, web page updates, operating document updates and archives collections are all due each year on this date.


Event Date: September 10, 2024, at 10:30am

Autumn is a wonderful season in Minnesota so plan to join UMRA at the Andersen Horticultural Library at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Kristen Mastel, head librarian and curator, will reveal its treasure trove of publications and artifacts relating to plant history, horticulture, and natural history. After the tour, those who are interested may stay to eat lunch together, sitting outside if the weather is nice. Later, you are invited to a one-hour tram tour of the entire Arboretum that includes natural areas of flowering shrubs, bogs, and forests, family garden and landscaping showpieces, and the red barn farm


Event Date: September 10, 2024, at 12:30pm

After a summer break the UMRA Photo Club will next meet September 10, 2024 in the meeting room of the Hennepin County St. Anthony Branch Library. For those interested in lunch, meet at the Great Dragon at 11:30 am. For September the THEME will be Curves


Event Date: September 16, 2024, at 10am

We will continue to discuss the pros and cons of Medicare Advantage.  You will also hear about notable non-health plan and non-broker resources.