The Case of the Missing Douglass Statues
Last week, we told you all about Rochester, New York and Frederick Douglass’ connection to the city, and we even briefly mentioned the many statues dedicated to the man himself. But did you know that when the Frederick Douglass Monument was unveiled in NYC in 1899, it was the first statue to be dedicated to a Black American in the United States? There are currently 13 statues of Frederick Douglass in Rochester alone, all replicas of the original Frederick Douglass Monument now located in Highland Park.
To commemorate Douglass’s 200th birthday, the statues were installed throughout the city. The city of Rochester has since purchased 10 of the statues and, after restoring and repairing them, plans to relocate them at indoor venues in an effort to help preserve them.
The statues, like Douglass himself, have faced their own challenges as several of them have been vandalized, and some even intentionally knocked down over the years. But instead of being deterred, those involved with the statue project used such vandalism as an opportunity to once again come together to highlight Frederick Douglass and all that he represents.