Frederick Douglass – Women’s Rights National Historical Park, Fall Street, Seneca Falls, New York

Born into slavery in 1817 or 1818, Frederick Douglass became one of the most outspoken advocates of abolition and women’s rights in the 19th century. Believing that "Right is of no sex, truth is of no color," Douglass urged an immediate end to slavery and supported Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and other women’s rights activists in their crusade for woman suffrage.

Douglass joined the abolitionist movement in 1841 and put his considerable oratorical skills to work as a speaker for the American Anti-Slavery Society. By 1847 he had moved to Rochester, New York, where he published the North Star, a weekly abolitionist newspaper.

Douglass was also active with the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society, and it was through this organization that he met Elizabeth M’Clintock. In July of 1848, M’Clintock invited Douglass to attend the First Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls. Douglass readily accepted, and his participation at the convention revealed his commitment to woman suffrage. He was the only African American to attend the convention.