Like others of their generations, and ours, Frederick Douglass and W. E. B. Du Bois found themselves at the crossroads of belonging
and not, of loving their nation and feeling rejected by it, of being both black and American. This special exhibition, on display in the West Gallery, invites you to explore their lives and work, and asks how these two men sought to resolve this great paradox for themselves.

Drawn from the collections of the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Library Company of Philadelphia, and Temple University Libraries, At These Crossroads also includes images and documents from archival institutions around the country. Curated by Dr. Judith Giesberg, Villanova University, and Kalela Williams, Free Library of Philadelphia, and designed by Nathanael Roesch, Free Library of Philadelphia.

Also visit the Free Library's Rare Book Department to see rare surviving copies of The Horizon, a civil rights magazine edited by Du Bois, as well as a first edition of Frederick Douglass’ 1855 autobiography My Bondage and My Freedom.