Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping enslavement in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York. We'll explore his life in enslavement, look at his autobiographies and other writings, and conclude with his life in Washington, D.C. as an elder statesman.

Instructor bio: Paul Post, a native Kansan, received a bachelor's degree in history from Kansas State University and a law degree in 1974 from the University of Kansas Law School. Now retired from practicing law, he is a member of the Shawnee County Historical Society and an amateur beekeeper. He has authored essays on the history of SBA Hill/former Menninger Campus in Topeka, Topeka's Bates Family, The Fred Harvey Company and Duke Ellington.