Frederick Douglass Dies February 1895

Frederick Douglass, the foremost Black American leader of the 19th century, died on February 20, 1895, hours after addressing a women's rights meeting. His death came as the systematic dismantling of Reconstruction rights he had championed was nearly complete — Plessy would be decided the following year. Douglass had spent his final years warning that the gains of the Civil War were being erased through legal and extralegal violence.