New Disneyland Pre-Show Features Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln Relationship

Frederick Douglass, ca. 1879. George K. Warren. (National Archives Gift Collection) Exact Date Shot Unknown NARA FILE #: 200-FL-22 WAR & CONFLICT BOOK #: 113

Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California is now featuring a new video installation on the relationship between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass in honor of Black History Month.

The 9-minute documentary, co-created by Disney and National Geographic, is playing at the park’s Main Street Opera House for The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln exhibit.

A portrait of Abraham Lincoln taken on November 8, 1863, 11 days before his famed Gettysburg Address. Public Domain

The documentary details Douglass’s life as a former slave who rose to be a powerful leader in the anti-slavery movement and his friendship with Lincoln.

The video adds to the park’s Douglass installation from last year in which the abolitionist’s bust and portrait were installed in the Opera House lobby next to those of Lincoln, whose story has been told since the attraction opened in 1965.

The new pre-show video is narrated by ABC anchor Robin Roberts and includes testimonials from Douglass’s third great-grandson, Kenneth B. Morris, Jr., and Dr. John Stauffer, an expert on the Civil War era and anti-slavery.

According to the Disney Parks Blog, a group within the company known as PULSE Business Employee Resource Group—which “advocates for cast members of African and Caribbean descent and backgrounds,” according to the park—had significant input within the documentary.

“We helped select the voice actors, we shared input on the script and gave feedback on all the images and entire video,” said Veronica Horton, a member of the group, in a recent park statement. “That input represents a milestone for the Black community … this means everything. We’re adding something that is meaningful in our history that’s now part of Main Street, U.S.A.”

The park has not yet announced if the pre-show will remain at the Opera House after the end of February. Meanwhile, fans have already uploaded the video on YouTube.