Frederick Douglass Statue Arrives After Years of Debate

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass is finally getting a homecoming celebration in his native Maryland county with a statue honoring him, after years of work by local residents to recognize him in a prominent place — on the same courthouse grounds where he gave a speech in 1878 and where a monument to local men who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War now stands.

For supporters who have worked on the project, it’s a long-overdue monument to an important American, and they view the diversity of people supporting the effort as a sign of how far race relations have come in a county where the location of the statue stirred debate as recently as the last decade.

“I think it shows how this community has changed from a time when black people weren’t allowed to even be on the courthouse lawn, and now we have a monument to a black man who was one of the most prominent figures of the 19th century,” said Eric Lowery, president of the Frederick Douglass Honor Society, which worked on bringing the monument to Easton. “It’s truly a community project.”

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