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.