Another statue of a legendary 19th century figure has fallen victim to the anger of protestors. However, this case is very different because its not a statue of a slave-owning former President or even an army general not radical enough by modern standards. This statue, which was uprooted and damaged permanently, belonged to an African-American Abolitionist of unmatched stature.
This statue was located in Maplewood Park of Rochester, New York. This park stands along the famous underground railway which was used by Douglass and Harriet Tubman to transport slaves out of the country. The statue was not only uprooted from its base but shattered so badly that it is beyond repair. The damaged image was found 50 feet away on the banks of the Genesee river.
Who was Frederick Douglass?
Most students of American history know of Frederick Douglass as the most prominent and eloquent voice from the African-American community fighting for abolition of slavery. He himself was a slave and gave a moving account of his tribulations in the autobiography 'Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.'
In fact, if anyone doubts his credentials as a believer in equality, he can look at his famous speech, delivered in 1852, known as "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" In this famous oration, Douglass censured the Americans for celebrating liberty on their Independence Day when blacks are still living in severe oppression.
He also famously said that Independence Day is "a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim."
Who did it?
Which begs the question: Why would any Black Lives Matter supporter attack a statue of Douglass? Even the most radical member of this group would not consider the legendary figure from 19th century as being undeserving of a statue.
So, was this act of vandalism a retaliation to the desecration of statues undertaken by Black Lives Matter movement and their sympathizers. Was this an example of what some are calling 'white resistance? This is the most likely scenario. Otherwise, it would be a really ambitious mischief-maker or an extremely stupid anti-racism protestor to indulge in this act.
The police are investigating the case but have not discovered yet who is responsible for this act. Since the tragic death of George Floyd, angry protestors have gone on a statue-toppling spree. Apart from statues of generals in the Confederate Army, long a center of controversy, they have even demolished those belonging to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and even Abraham Lincoln.
