“Power Concedes Nothing Without a Demand.”
“Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground.”
Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives (FDFI) is guided by the conviction that progress requires courage, engagement, and collective action. Drawing from the legacy of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, we work to expand shared opportunity, prevent human trafficking, and equip young people to confront injustice and exploitation.
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Shared Opportunity
In 2019, Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives relocated its headquarters to Rochester, New York. Since then, our work has focused on strengthening opportunities across the city by addressing persistent economic, health, and educational disparities affecting families and young people.
Inspired by Frederick Douglass’s enduring belief in the transformative power of knowledge and civic participation, FDFI partners with educators, community leaders, and families to promote leadership development, protect vulnerable youth, and expand pathways to opportunity. We are committed to building strong children and equipping the next generation with the tools, confidence, and moral courage to confront injustice and human exploitation wherever it exists.
This work also informs the development of the Frederick Douglass Museum & Media Center in Rochester, a long-term civic initiative dedicated to preserving history, fostering informed dialogue, and expanding opportunity for future generations.
Check out our other initiatives:
Shared Opportunity
In 2019, Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives relocated its headquarters to Rochester, New York. Since then, our work has focused on strengthening opportunities across the city by addressing persistent economic, health, and educational disparities affecting families and young people.
Inspired by Frederick Douglass’s enduring belief in the transformative power of knowledge and civic participation, FDFI partners with educators, community leaders, and families to promote leadership development, protect vulnerable youth, and expand pathways to opportunity. We are committed to building strong children and equipping the next generation with the tools, confidence, and moral courage to confront injustice and human exploitation wherever it exists.
This work also informs the development of the Frederick Douglass Museum & Media Center in Rochester, a long-term civic initiative dedicated to preserving history, fostering informed dialogue, and expanding opportunity for future generations.
Check out our other initiatives:
One Million Abolitionists
Douglass won world fame when his first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, was published in 1845. The book became an instant bestseller and—having escaped slavery just seven years earlier—placed his life in immediate danger. Narrative helped change the course of the U.S. abolitionist movement in the nineteenth century and has inspired and transformed readers’ lives for more than 175 years.
Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives (FDFI) is committed to inspiring and empowering one million young people to do and be more than they ever dreamed possible. In 2018, in honor of Frederick Douglass’s 200th birthday, FDFI launched the One Million Abolitionists project by publishing a special Bicentennial Edition of Narrative.
In February 2023, to honor Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass, Frederick Douglass Books—an imprint of Forefront Books—published a Douglass Family Edition of Narrative for students. In June 2023, Simon & Schuster expanded the reach of the Douglass Family Edition by publishing and distributing it to retail outlets nationwide.
Through the One Million Abolitionists project, we aim to distribute one million copies of these editions to young people worldwide, helping the next generation connect with Douglass’s story, strength, and call to action.
In 2012, the Library of Congress named Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, one of the 88 books that shaped America.
New Douglass Family Edition
Check out our other initiatives:
One Million Abolitionists
Douglass won world fame when his first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, was published in 1845. The book became an instant bestseller and—having escaped slavery just seven years earlier—placed his life in immediate danger. Narrative helped change the course of the U.S. abolitionist movement in the nineteenth century and has inspired and transformed readers’ lives for more than 175 years.
Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives (FDFI) is committed to inspiring and empowering one million young people to do and be more than they ever dreamed possible. In 2018, in honor of Frederick Douglass’s 200th birthday, FDFI launched the One Million Abolitionists project by publishing a special Bicentennial Edition of Narrative.
In February 2023, to honor Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass, Frederick Douglass Books—an imprint of Forefront Books—published a Douglass Family Edition of Narrative for students. In June 2023, Simon & Schuster expanded the reach of the Douglass Family Edition by publishing and distributing it to retail outlets nationwide.
Through the One Million Abolitionists project, we aim to distribute one million copies of these editions to young people worldwide, helping the next generation connect with Douglass’s story, strength, and call to action.
In 2012, the Library of Congress named Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, one of the 88 books that shaped America.
Send us an email to find out how to sponsor books for students in your community by clicking here.
Purchase the trade edition of the Narrative here.
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PROTECT
FDFI has partnered with two California non-profit organizations, 3Strands Global Foundation and Love Never Fails, to develop PROTECT, the largest and most comprehensive human trafficking prevention education program of its kind. The objective is to reduce the vulnerability of children to exploitation through the application of knowledge.
There are four components to PROTECT’s prevention and early intervention program:
- Protocol – Ensure that school districts and communities know how to respond to potential incidents of abuse and exploitation;
- Professional Development – Training teachers and administrators on the subject of human trafficking and its historical connections;
- Classroom Curriculum – Trauma-informed, age-appropriate education is delivered by teachers in Elementary, Middle School, and High School curricula.
- Data Analysis – Arizona State University partners with us to process and analyze surveys resulting from the previous steps.
PROTECT offers an age-appropriate curriculum for students (K-12), training and protocol resources for school staff, and a way to measure the impact in every community.
The program, managed by our partner 3Strands Global Foundation, is currently implemented in six states – California, Utah, Texas, Michigan, Ohio, and Georgia – and continues to expand.
119,520+ adults have received PROTECT Prevention Education to date.
804,744+ students have received PROTECT Prevention Education to date.
32,000+ testimonials over 32,000 testimonials and stories of PROTECT’s impact have been gathered to date.
Check out our other initiatives:
PROTECT
FDFI has partnered with two California non-profit organizations, 3Strands Global Foundation and Love Never Fails, to develop PROTECT, the largest and most comprehensive human trafficking prevention education program of its kind. The objective is to reduce the vulnerability of children to exploitation through the application of knowledge.
There are four components to PROTECT’s prevention and early intervention program:
- Protocol – Ensure that school districts and communities know how to respond to potential incidents of abuse and exploitation;
- Professional Development – Training teachers and administrators on the subject of human trafficking and its historical connections;
- Classroom Curriculum – Trauma-informed, age-appropriate education is delivered by teachers in Elementary, Middle School, and High School curricula.
- Data Analysis – Arizona State University partners with us to process and analyze surveys resulting from the previous steps.
PROTECT offers an age-appropriate curriculum for students (K-12), training and protocol resources for school staff, and a way to measure the impact in every community.
The program, managed by our partner 3Strands Global Foundation, is currently implemented in six states – California, Utah, Texas, Michigan, Ohio, and Georgia – and continues to expand.
119,520+ adults have received PROTECT Prevention Education to date.
804,744+ students have received PROTECT Prevention Education to date.
32,000+ testimonials over 32,000 testimonials and stories of PROTECT’s impact have been gathered to date.
Click here to contact us for more information.
Check out our other initiatives:
Frederick Douglass Books
Amplifying the Voice of Black and Brown Authors
Forefront Books and the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives have announced a new joint publishing imprint. The Frederick Douglass Books publishing imprint is an effort to establish a pathway for Black and Brown authors to write and publish a professional book with distribution into traditional retailers.
With the large disparity in the amount of Black and Brown authors in the book publishing industry, the Frederick Douglass Books imprint will continue the educational work of Frederick Douglass by giving an opportunity to those with a message for the world.
Check out our other initiatives:
Frederick Douglass Books
Forefront Books and the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives have announced a new joint publishing imprint. The Frederick Douglass Books publishing imprint is an effort to establish a pathway for Black and Brown authors to write and publish a professional book with distribution into traditional retailers.
With the large disparity in the amount of Black and Brown authors in the book publishing industry, the Frederick Douglass Books imprint will continue the educational work of Frederick Douglass by giving an opportunity to those with a message for the world.
Click here for more information and to apply.
Check out our other initiatives:
The FD200
On February 14, 2018, Frederick Douglass would have turned 200 years old, and throughout the year, communities across the country commemorated his Bicentennial. FDFI partnered with national academic and civic leaders to honor 200 individuals who embody the spirit and work of Douglass’s enduring legacy.
Honorees were recognized in one of seven categories reflecting the breadth of his character and contributions: abolitionist, writer, public servant, feminist, educator, entrepreneur, and diplomat. The Bicentennial year culminated in a gala celebration for the FD200 honorees at the Library of Congress on February 14, 2019.
Check out our other initiatives:
The FD200
On February 14, 2018, Frederick Douglass would have turned 200 years old, and throughout the year, communities across the country commemorated his Bicentennial. FDFI partnered with national academic and civic leaders to honor 200 individuals who embody the spirit and work of Douglass’s enduring legacy.
Honorees were recognized in one of seven categories reflecting the breadth of his character and contributions: abolitionist, writer, public servant, feminist, educator, entrepreneur, and diplomat. The Bicentennial year culminated in a gala celebration for the FD200 honorees at the Library of Congress on February 14, 2019.
Click here to see the names and short biographies of all 200 honorees.
Check out our other initiatives:
Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives
130 E. Main Street
Rochester, NY 14604
Legal Counsel
Jon P. Getz, Esq.
45 Exchange Blvd, Suite 500
Rochester, New York 14614
585-820-9291 | email: Jongetz@Jgetzlaw.com
Frederick Douglass Family Foundation (Initiatives), Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity – EIN #26-0757405
Click here to view FDFI’s IRS Determination Letter