Frederick Douglas has left a legacy behind that is unforgettable. His efforts to end slavery and his struggle for equality among all men have earned him his rightful place in history. In recognition of his numerous contributions and significant achievements, many public schools have been named in his honor. The Episcopal Church in the U.S. also celebrates his life with a feast day, observed on February 20. Below is a list of awards, monuments and memorials that are dedicated to his memory.
Creator: Mundy Johnson
In 1879, The Bust of Frederick Douglass was presented to the city of Rochester, New York. Created in 1872 by sculptor Johnson Mundy, it was unveiled in 1879. In acknowledgement, Douglass wrote: "Incidents of this character do much amaze me. It is not, however, the height to which I have risen, but the depth from which I have come that amazes me."
Today, the bust resides at Frederick Douglass hall at the University of Rochester in New York. One thousand dollars was needed to defray the artist's fee. Mundy went to Washington, D.C. to model a cast of Douglass' features. (Material: Plaster. H: 89 cm). Source: americanheritage.com
Courtesy of zol1906.com
In 1921, members of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity (the first African-American intercollegiate fraternity) designated Frederick Douglass as an honorary member. Douglass is the only man to receive an honorary membership posthumously. Source: zol1906.com
Courtesy of centralparknyc.org
In 1950, the Frederick Douglass Circle was named for the great African-American leader. The circle is a key site along the “Gateway to Harlem” at the confluence of Central Park West, Central Park North and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Although a ceremony was held to name the circle after Frederick Douglass on September 17, 1950, the pedestrian plaza in the center of the intersection was not completed until sixty years later. Source: centralparknyc.org
1 Potomac Ave SE
Washington, DC
In 1950, the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, sometimes referred to as the South Capitol Street Bridge, just south of the US Capitol in Washington DC, was built and named in his honor. Source: capitolriverfront.org
Cedar Hill - Photo: by Janet Kincaid
In 1962, Cedar Hill, Douglass' home in Anacostia (Washington, DC) became part of the National Park System, and in 1988 was designated the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site. Located at 1411 W St. SE, Washington, DC., tours of the historic home are available daily 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Source: nps.gov
values.hobbizine.com
In 1965, the U.S. Postal Service honored Douglass with a stamp in the Prominent American series. Source: values.hobbizine.com
2011 winner - Stephanie McCurry
In 1999, Yale University established the Frederick Douglass Book Prize for works in the history of slavery and abolition, in his honor. The annual $25,000 prize is administered by the Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History and the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale.
Stephanie McCurry, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, has been selected as the winner of the 2011 Frederick Douglass Book Prize for her book, Confederate Reckoning: Power and Politics in the Civil War South (Harvard University Press). Source: yale.edu
openlibrary.org
In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante named Frederick Douglass to his list of 100 Greatest African Americans (a Biographical Encyclopedia).
Dr. Molefi Kete Asante is a Professor (Department of African American Studies at Temple University). He is considered by his peers to be one of the most distinguished contemporary scholars, having published 70 books and over 400 articles. Source: asante.net
Photo: by Peter E. Kurtze
In 2003, Douglass Place, the rental housing units that Douglass built in Baltimore in 1892 for blacks, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Douglass Place is a group of five late-19th century brick row houses located at 516-524 South Dallas Street in the Fells Point area of Baltimore. The site upon which the houses stand was the location of the Dallas Street Station Methodist Episcopal Church, which Douglass had attended while living in the area. Source:mht.maryland.gov
Photo credit: structuremag.org
In 2007, the former Troup-Howell bridge which carried Interstate 490 over the Genesee River was redesigned and renamed the Frederick Douglass-Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge Source: structuremag.org
Photo credit: mdhousing.org
On June 18, 2011, Governor O’Malley helped unveil Easton’s New Frederick Douglass Statue. Talbot County, Maryland, honored Douglass by installing a bronze statue in his image, on the lawn of the county courthouse in Easton. Jay Hall Carpenter created the 7-and-a-half-foot tall bronze statue standing on a pedestal. Douglass, after escaping to freedom, eventually returned to
Easton in 1878 to deliver several talks, including his Self-Made Men lecture at the courthouse. Source: mdhousing.org ·
Photo: by harlembespoke.blogspot.com
In 2011 (September 20), the newly renovated Frederick Douglass Circle, featuring the Frederick Douglass Memorial was re-dedicated in Harlem. An eight-foot bronze statue of Douglass, done by Hungarian-born sculptor, Gabriel Koren, and a memorial, designed by Algernon Miller, were unveiled.
Miller's artwork is infused with the symbolism of escaping slaves and their dream of freedom. The centerpiece of the site is the bronze water wall depicting the fiber-optically lighted Big Dipper constellation and the North Star that guided those on the underground railroad, inscribed with Douglass inspirational words: "The types of mankind are various, they differ like the waves, but they are one like the sea." The memorial's colorful granite paving pattern is based on traditional African-American quilt motifs that were used as signposts for Africans escaping to the North. The circular fence of wagon wheels represents the 'chariot' that carried the slaves homeward. Source: centralparknyc.org