On Sunday a statue of Frederick Douglass in Rochester, New York, was ripped from its base. It is believed to have been the first monument in the nation erected to honor a black American.
It was ripped down this Sunday on the 168th anniversary of one of Douglass' famous Independence Day speeches on July 5th, 1852.
Police found the statue 50 feet from its base at the Genesee River gorge with damage to the base and a finger. Police said no perpetrators have been found.
President Donald Trump responded to the vandalism in a tweet this afternoon, stating: 'Statue of Frederick Douglass Torn Down in Rochester. This shows that these anarchists have no bounds!'
According to THEHILL
A statue of Frederick Douglass was ripped from its pedestal in upstate New York on Sunday, the day marking the 168th anniversary of the American abolitionist giving one of his most seminal speeches condemning slavery.
Rochester police said that the statue was taken from its base in Maplewood Park and carried about 50 feet to a site near the Genesee River gorge, according to The Associated Press. The base, lower part of the statue and a finger on its left hand were reportedly damaged.
Carvin Eison, a leader of a project that brought a Douglass statue to the park in the city, told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle that another statue would have to take its place because the damage was too significant to repair.
A Frederick Douglas statue in Maplewood Park was removed from its base overnight. pic.twitter.com/J43hqxuHTT
— Atyia Collins (@Atyia_Collins) July 5, 2020
"It's particularly painful that it happened at this time," Eison told the newspaper. "It's really sad because here in Rochester the statue of Frederick Douglass has always been a face of good."
