The Frederick Douglass Republicans of Tarrant County hosted its fourth annual reenactment of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln’s meeting performed by actors Wyatt Lutenbacher and Moses Kama.
The Frederick Douglass Republicans of Tarrant County welcome guests to its Lincoln & Douglass Reenactment event on Feb. 22 at 1010 Collins Event Center, 1010 Collins St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
A screen shows Abraham Lincoln, left, and Frederick Douglass, right, at the Lincoln & Douglass Reenactment event on Feb. 22 at 1010 Collins Event Center, 1010 Collins St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Guests eat and talk at the Lincoln & Douglass Reenactment event on Feb. 22 at 1010 Collins Event Center, 1010 Collins St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Food sits on a table at the Lincoln & Douglass Reenactment event on Feb. 22 at 1010 Collins Event Center, 1010 Collins St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
The Frederick Douglass Republicans of Tarrant County holds a reenactment, show choir performance and reception at the 1010 Collins Event Center, 1010 Collins St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
The Frederick Douglass Republicans of Tarrant County hands out pocket constitutions and bookmarks at the Lincoln & Douglass Reenactment event on Feb. 22 at 1010 Collins Event Center, 1010 Collins St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Chris Taylor, the judge for the 48th District Court in Tarrant County, welcomes guests to the event. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Veronica E. Williams sings the national anthem on Feb. 22 at the Lincoln & Douglass Reenactment event on Feb. 22 at 1010 Collins Event Center, 1010 Collins St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Tarrant County 48th District Court Judge Chris Taylor listens to the national anthem on Feb. 22. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
The Cristo Rey Fort Worth College Prep show choir performs a song on Feb. 22. From left to right: R.J. Williams, Paloma Rojas, Harley Tyree, Adawna Vazquez and Edgar Vazquez. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Wyatt Lutenbacher, left, and Moses Kama, right, reenact a meeting between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Actors Wyatt Lutenbacher, left, and Moses Kama, right, shake hands on Feb. 22. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Judge of the 233rd District Court Kenneth Newell, Michael Martinez, co-founder of Martinez Hsu, P.C., and Judge of the 323rd District Court Alex Kim sit on a panel and answer questions about race, history and politics on Feb. 22. The panel was moderated by former Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)
“It’s a very important event for us. It’s our signature event,” Chris Taylor, judge for the 48th District Court in Tarrant County, said. “We take an opportunity to recognize and appreciate when an escaped slave had the opportunity to meet the president of the United States — it is an important event in history.”
The Frederick Douglass Republicans of Tarrant County, founded by activist and Texas State House of Representatives member Reby Cary, is an organization that strives to “maximize political participation of African Americans in the Republican Party” and be an “educational resource for economic, social, and political empowerment.”
The night began with the national anthem, a performance from the Cristo Rey College Preparatory show choir and a reenactment of a meeting between Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, and Frederick Douglass, a freed slave, abolitionist and writer. The gathering ended with a panel discussion about racial tension, politics and history.
“I believe his (Abraham Lincoln) view and understanding of the Constitution and Bill of Rights in neither embracing nor rejecting slavery,” Judge of the 233rd District Court Kenneth Newell said on the panel. “What was surely understood by every member who signed the Declaration of Independence was that if they didn’t stand together, they would hang separately.”
Judge of the 233rd District Court Kenneth Newell, Michael Martinez, co-founder of Martinez Hsu, P.C., and judge of the 323rd District Court Alex Kim were panel participants and were moderated by former Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams.
Cristian ArguetaSoto is the community engagement journalist at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him by email or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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