Describe the characteristics of the Creation and dedication in this artwork's History.
In 1894, John W. Thompson, began organizing for a monument recognizing the African-American soldiers who had died in the Civil War. Thompson worked as a waiter at the Powers Hotel and was the leader of Eureka Lodge #36 of Free and Accepted Masons, a lodge with mostly Black members; the lodge was associated with Prince Hall Freemasonry, which largely did not admit non-white members. Thompson was prompted by the Soldiers and Sailors Monument; the monument, which was located in Washington Square Park, which did not depict any black figures.The Eureka Lodge formed a committee to create a monument for the African-American soldiers and sailors who perished in the Civil War, but received little support. He then sent a letter to Douglass, who was then living in Anacostia, Maryland. Douglass replied in a supportive letter dated December 3, 1894: "I shall be proud to live to see the proposed monument erected in the city of Rochester, where the best years of my life were spent in the service of our people—and which to this day seems like my home.": 39  On December 21, appeals for funding for the monument were made in Rochester newspapers, but there was opposition from those who thought that the existing monument already represented all of the war dead. On December 22, a meeting held in the offices of state legislator Charles S. Baker decided to erect a shaft for the black war dead topped with a statue of Douglass.: 40 
However, Douglass unexpectedly died on February 20, 1895. The next morning, Thompson announced in the local newspapers that the monument would be erected in Douglass's memory.: 40  Once funds were collected, sculptor Stanley Edwards began creating an 8-foot bronze statue, using Charles Remond Douglass, Frederick's son, as a model.: 82 
The location of the statue was controversial. The committee initially proposed located it in Plymouth Park in the Third Ward, in the middle of Rochester's black community. However, local residents opposed it and other city residents wanted a more central location. The final decision was to erect it by the New York Central train station. The initial unveiling was scheduled for September 14, 1898, but the organizers learned on September 12 that the statue was not ready. Regardless, almost 3,000 people gathered on September 14 to observe a ceremony in which the monument was formally turned over to the city.: 82  In his speech, Mayor George E. Warner said: Our city is proud for having sheltered him when other cities would have refused him shelter. At his death she honored his remains and gave them a resting place at her door. To-day her citizens honor his memory by erecting a beautiful monument inscribed with his eloquent words. It is fitting that it should stand near a great portal of our city, where thousands who enter may see that she is willing to acknowledge to the world that her most illustrious citizen was not a white man.: 111  
Other speakers included abolitionist and suffragist Susan B. Anthony and Ida B. Wells, one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).: 102, 104  The statue was unveiled on June 8, 1899, in front of ten thousand people. The day of the statue's unveiling was akin to a holiday for Rochester and included a parade which the military participated in. Then-Governor Theodore Roosevelt spoke at the unveiling.
Maryland NAACP Civil War Free and Accepted Masons Soldiers and Sailors Monument National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Prince Hall Freemasonry Freemasonry Washington Square Park bronze Charles S. Baker Anacostia Charles Remond Douglass Susan B. Anthony Ida B. Wells John W. Thompson the African-American soldiers who had died Theodore Roosevelt George E. Warner