Explore the Vandalism about the Douglass Bicentennial replicas of this artwork, Statue of Frederick Douglass (Rochester, New York).
Shortly after installation, two students from St. John Fisher College were arrested for severe damage to the replica at the site of the Seward School. The college suspended the students amid widespread community outrage. One of the students stated, "Me and my friend were extremely drunk, and for some reason thought it was a good idea to try and take a statue. It had nothing to do with the identity of the statue whatsoever like everyone thinks." However, one witness stated he heard them yell racial epithets.In June 2020, the replica in Maplewood Park was removed from its base. The statue was found in a nearby gorge, in a damaged condition. Carvin Eison, project director of Re-Energize the Legacy of Frederick Douglass Committee in Rochester, stated that it would be replaced with another replica in storage. Eison said, "I’ve always said if one goes down ten more go back up." The police opened an investigation. President Donald Trump blamed the vandalism on anarchists, while former NAACP president  Cornell William Brooks stated his belief that it was done in retaliation for Confederate statues removed in the wake of the George Floyd protests. Ten days later, it was replaced with the spontaneous help of the two men who had vandalized the Seward School site two years before as their way of taking "a step in the right direction."A third statue, this time in Aqueduct Park, was knocked off its pedestal in September 2021. It was replaced with another statue on Oct. 20, 2021.
Confederate statues removed NAACP Donald Trump Maplewood Park right Cornell William Brooks George Floyd protests Frederick Douglass anarchists St. John Fisher College