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The Frederick Douglas Memorial "Operation Paint Job"

The home of Frederick Douglas, the great American Abolishionist, Womens Rights Advocate, born in 1817 died in 1895, is located on Cedar Hill at 1411 W Street SE, Anacostia D.C.

Frederick Douglas was born a slave; educated himself and became a champion of freedom for the enslaved Negroes. He edited a militant newspaper called the "North Star", which gave him wide notice. He begged president Abraham Lincoln to allow the freed Negroes to fight in the Civil War-this was granted. He became the Recorder of Deeds in the District of Columbia, United States Marshall, Consoul General to the Republic of Haitii and a recepient of many honors. 

This home was willed to the Frederick Douglas Memorial and Historical society by Federick Douglas's widow upon her death in 1903 as a perpetual memorial to her husband's greatness. In 1916, after the Historical Society was unable to pay the debts of the home, the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) took over and paid off the mortgages. The Historical Society however, retained the deed to the property. These two organizations are jointly responsible for the upkeep of the memorial. 

The Coordinating Committee of Anacostia and Vicinity noticed the general run down condition of the home and the grounds and decided to to paint the house and do some minor repairs. Since 1951 the Committee has been in contact with the NACW and the Historical Society, both being located out of the city of Washington, concerning the Frederick Douglas Home and its condition. Early this year the committee volunteered to paint the home; this was accepted by the Historical Society and the NACW. In March of this year the committee began raising funds to paint and repairs as follows: 
a. repair broken doors and windows 
b. Replacing worn out porch steps 
c. replacing worn out guttering 
d. replacing shuters 
e. repairing roof and painting same. 
f. Replacing any broken windows in the 8 room brick mansion.