Frederick Douglass Speaking Tour with Nathan Richardson
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Date and time
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Address
Cost
About this event
The Saratoga Torch Club invites the public to an extraordinary evening of history and performance on Monday, November 17. Dinner begins at 6 p.m., followed at 7 p.m. by Nathan Richardson’s acclaimed portrayal of Frederick Douglass, a performance that has captivated audiences nationwide for more than a decade.
Through Richardson’s commanding baritone and lyrical cadence, Douglass’s words seem to rise anew, urgent and alive.
“My goal isn’t to reenact history,” Richardson explains. “It’s to embody it—to bridge past and present in a conversation that still demands to be heard.”
A native of Suffolk, Virginia, and a 22-year U.S. Army veteran, Richardson grew up steeped in the oral traditions of his family and community. “My father, all my family members—they were storytellers,” he recalls. “That’s how I learned: truth and performance, woven together.”
“I started reading Frederick Douglass,” Richardson remembers. “And I could literally hear his voice—his rhythm, his cadence. It was like music to a poet’s ear.”
Today, Richardson performs more than a dozen of Douglass’s speeches, from “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July” to his addresses on the Constitution and civil rights. His presentations mix history, performance, and audience engagement—inviting spectators to ask Douglass anything they wish.
That interaction, he explains, is what makes interpretation different from reenactment. “A reenactor sticks to the script. An interpreter can talk about anything—the person’s friends, the politics, the price of bread. You become the person.”
Dinner is $40, payable at the door by check or cash. To reserve a seat, please contact Torch Club President Gerald Stulc by November 13 at gstulc73@gmail.com.
The Saratoga Torch Club is part of a national network of forums where professionals and community members meet to share ideas, promote civil discourse, and explore issues of public interest. Monthly dinners are open to the public and feature guest speakers from diverse fields.
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Event times and information subject to change and not guaranteed.