At a Garrison Memorial Meeting, in the 15th Street Presbyterian Church, Washington, on June 2, 1879, Douglass was the principal eulogist. Robert Purvis, long-time friend of Garrison, chaired the gathering. Alexander Crummell, minister of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Washington, opened and closed the service with prayer. Theodore Greener, Dean of the Howard Law School, also spoke. B.D. Fleet played Mozart’s Requiem on the organ. A large crowd of blacks and whites was present. I chose to follow Douglass’s words partly because of his brilliance, but because of the significant, close relationship he and Garrison shared over many years. The later division between the two men was never reconciled, in spite of a couple of meetings. This Douglass “memorial” speech is a brilliant attempt at a “spiritual reconciliation”, after Garrison’s death.
From A Life of Purpose article by Seldon
