Frederick Douglass statue torn down in Upstate New York
Rochester police say a statue of the abolitionist was ripped from its base in a park and found by a nearby river.
A trending online petition is calling for Greater Rochester International Airport to be renamed after African-American abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
The new Change.org appeal argues that the New York air hub should be rechristened as Frederick Douglass International Airport to honor the author, orator and civil rights leader. As of Monday morning, the pitch has received over 1,000 signatures.
Douglass lived in Rochester for 25 years, the Democrat and Chronicle reports, where he ran and published The North Star, an influential anti-slavery newspaper. He died in 1895 and was laid to rest at a cemetery in the city.
American social reformer Frederick Douglass (c.1818 - 1895), circa 1875. After escaping from slavery, he dedicated himself to the abolitionist movement as a writer and orator. (Kean Collection/Getty Images)
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“Douglass’s message might be more relevant today than ever since the struggles he fought for remain ongoing,” the petition proposes. “His words and actions continue to inspire us to rise to a higher vision of ourselves and our nation.”
The plea pushes that the gateway tribute “will honor one of our country’s greatest citizens and deliver a message of hope to the world.”
Calls to rename institutions, buildings and more to honor Black leaders have swept the nation following the Memorial Day death of George Floyd in police custody.
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On July 5, a statue of Douglass was ripped from its base in Rochester on the anniversary of one of his most famous speeches. The figure of the abolitionist was dismantled and taken from Maplewood Park, a site along the Underground Railroad where Douglass and Harriet Tubman helped shuttle slaves to freedom.
The statue was found at the brink of the Genesee River gorge about 50 feet from its pedestal, police said.
President Trump condemned the vandalism, saying in a tweet: "This shows that these anarchists have no bounds!"
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Fox News' Stephanie Pagones contributed to this report.
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