Students Bring Frederick Douglass' Forgotten Commencement Speech to Life in New Short Film

In Just and Perfect, a team of high school-aged performers resurrect a lost chapter from their own school's history: an 1854 commencement address delivered by Frederick Douglass

HUDSON, Ohio, Oct. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Frederick Douglass, one of the most powerful voices for abolition and human rights in American history, delivered his only commencement address at what is today Western Reserve Academy (WRA), a high school campus in Ohio. Now a group of the school's students, with an assist by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. David Blight, is bringing the forgotten speech to life on the same grounds where Douglass recited it.

In the summer of 1854, Douglass stood before 3,000 people and delivered an address titled, "The Claims of the Negro: Ethnologically Considered," a bold, unsparing speech that challenged the rise of pseudoscientific racism. Nearly 170 years later, the forgotten speech has been revived by students in a new short film, Just and Perfect.

Produced by WRA as part of its Bicentennial commemorations, the film blends archival material with modern storytelling and student performances, serving as both a historical corrective and a call to action.

"We didn't want to just retell this story," says Suzanne Walker Buck, Head of School at Western Reserve Academy. "We wanted to confront it and really reflect on how Douglass' words still resonate today. The film explores not just what Douglass said, but the story behind it and what it means to give someone the mic in the first place."

The film is narrated by Dr. Menna Demessie, a political scholar and 1998 graduate of WRA, and includes Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. David Blight of Yale University (Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom). Just and Perfect is anchored by interpretations of Douglass' speech by four student actors. The students were pushed to interpret and analyze Douglass' rhetoric, and then perform the speech on camera in the school's black box theatre that had been transformed into a film set.

The team behind the film hopes to inspire similar models of student-driven storytelling across the country.

"We wanted our students to experience what it means to be stewards of history," said CeCe Payne, the film's writer and producer. "Involving them was a decision made for reasons beyond the film's final product. It was about emboldening them to make meaning of this history, and supporting their understanding of both their capability and their responsibility to preserve truth."

The film has entered its national distribution phase, with screenings and educational partnerships now in development. It has already earned early recognition, being selected for screening and competition at the 16th Annual Chagrin Documentary Film Festival. The film is part of WRA's widespread efforts to recognize Douglass' visit - including the installation of a permanent state historical marker on the school's campus - and bring his speech into classrooms and public forums nationwide.

Western Reserve Academy is a coeducational boarding and day school for grades 9-12 located in Hudson, Ohio. WRA was founded in 1826 and looks forward to its Bicentennial celebration in 2026. Niche named WRA the #1 Best College Prep High School in Ohio; Best High School for STEM in Ohio; and Most Diverse Private High School in Ohio. Learn more at WRA.net.

SOURCE Western Reserve Academy