Frederick Douglass-John Brown Meeting

In the home of William Webb, two hundred feet north of this spot, two famous Americans met several Detroit Negro residents on March 12, 1859, to discuss methods of abolishing American Negro slavery. John Brown (1800-1859), fiery antislavery leader, ardently advocated insurrectionary procedures, and eight months later became a martyr to the cause. Frederick Douglass (c. 1817-1895), ex-slave and internationally recognized antislavery orator and writer, sought a solution through political means and orderly democratic processes. Although they differed on tactics to be used, they were united in the immortal cause of American Negro freedom. Among the prominent members of Detroit’s Negro community reported to have been present were: William Lambert, George De Baptiste, Dr. Joseph Ferguson, Reverend William S. Monroe, Willis Wilson, John Jackson, and William Webb.