The Curious Case of The Vandalized Frederick Douglass Statue in Rochester

Here is a statue of Frederick Douglass which is situated on the steps of the New York Historical Society. Hopefully it will be spared the indignity of what happened to the statue of Douglass in Rochester, New York.

During the Fourth of July weekend, the statue was torn down and discarded near the Genesee River gorge. Of course, it was in Rochester where Douglass gave his famous "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July" address on July 5, 1852.

As of this writing it is unclear as to who is responsible for this desecration. President Trump blames "anarchists". This is not entirely unreasonable given what recently happened to the statue of Ulysses S. Grant in San Francisco. Lest we forget that Douglass urged African-Americans to vote for Grant.

However, Carvin Eison of the Re-Energizing the Legacy of Frederick Douglass Project asked, "Is this some type of retaliation because of the national fever over confederate monuments right now?" This is an entirely legitimate question.

Whatever the answer it is clear there is plenty of disrespect and stupidity in this country to go around and around.