THE descendants of a 19th Century anti-slavery campaigner have backed calls for a memorial to be installed in the city which bought his freedom.

In 1846, the people of Newcastle raised more than $700 to buy the freedom of runaway slave Frederick Douglass, then touring Britain and Ireland to draw attention to the cause.

A campaign is underway to install a blue plaque near Westgate Road in the city, where Douglass stayed during his visit to Newcastle when the horrified public raised enough money to buy his freedom from a Maryland slaveowner.

Now the campaign has been backed by his great-great-great grandson Kenneth B Morris Jr said: “In an extraordinarily generous gesture, the people of Newcastle upon Tyne paid $711.66 to Frederick Douglass's owner to purchase his freedom on December 5, 1846.

“Douglass returned to America in 1847, a free man, to continue his fight against slavery on the soil where his brethren were enslaved.

“How fitting it would be for the city of Newcastle to recognize my great ancestor and to commemorate this significant moment in history with a Blue Plaque.”

Douglass was born into slavery on a Maryland plantation at some point around 1817 and later recalled never having seen his mother in daylight, because she was gone to work each day before he woke and he was taken away from her when he was aged seven.

After being regularly whipped by his master as a teenager, Douglass eventually escaped at the third attempt and made his way by train and steamboat to New York where he lived as a free man.

Once safely in the North, he became a noted preacher and abolitionist, writing several books and campaigning tirelessly to bring about the end of slavery, including a trip to Europe where supporters in Newcastle raised the money to finally buy his freedom, eight years after his escape.

Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah said: “Frederick Douglass’ story shows the rich heritage of the North in the anti-slavery movement.

“We should have a plaque for where Frederick Douglass stayed and lectured to mark his personal achievement and the long history of black heroes and heroines in Newcastle”.

She added: “A blue plaque would help tell the stories of those more commonly overlooked and can inspire others in the future.”