On Monday, May 9, 2016, the Overbeck History Lecture Series welcomes National Park Service museum curators Bob Sonderman and Ka’mal McClarin for an illustrated presentation on Frederick Douglass’s years in Washington, including a display of some of the great abolitionist’s personal possessions. Douglass, who escaped from slavery in Maryland, spent much of his late adulthood in the District of Columbia, including seven years in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Sonderman is regional curator for the National Park Service National Capital Region, with responsibility for the long-term care and preservation of museum property for over forty parks in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. He also directs the National Park Service Museum Resource Center, a vast storage facility for museum collections providing curatorial support to the parks of the National Capital Region.

McClarin is curator of the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site here in Washington and was the editor of Frederick Douglass: A Voice for Freedom and Justice. He also serves as curator-at-large for other National Capital Parks East historic sites, including the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House and the Carter G. Woodson National Historic Site.

The lecture will be held at Hill Center at 921 Pennsylvania Ave. S.E. at 7:30 p.m. As always, admission is free, but a reservation is required due to limited seating. Go to http://hillcenterdc.org/home/programs/2511 or simply call 202-549-4172.