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If the city wants to erect a $15.5 million monument to honor Frederick Douglas at the northwest corner of Central Park, then they should probably make sure their representation is accurate.
The memorial consists of an eight-foot-tall sculpture of Frederick Douglass. What makes the monument inconsistent with history is, beneath the statue, they plan on building a huge, granite quilt. A symbol will be chiseled into each square, each of which are to be an indication of a secret code sewn into family quilts and used along the Underground Railroad to aid slaves. The significance of the quilt will be explained by two plaques.
Several historians raise an important objection to the construction of the quilt: the secret codes never existed.
The only aspect of the monument that they believe should not be included, however, are the plaques that propagate the historical inaccuracy. One of the plaques will even say, “they were used “to indicate the location of safe houses, escape routes and to convey other information vital to a slave’s escape and survival.”
It’s “a myth, bordering on a hoax,” said David Blight, a Yale University historian who has written a book about Douglass and edited his autobiography. “To permanently associate Douglass’s life with this story instead of great, real stories is unfortunate at best.”
In Douglass Tribute, Slave Folklore and Fact Collide [New York Times]
—Elizabeth
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One Comment
1. Lale
Want a neat little picture by your comments? Get one here.Also, they should seek out some real images of Mr. Douglass rather than base the statue on Crabman from the “My Name is Earl” show.
Posted Tuesday, January 23, 2007 at 4:40 pm | Permalink
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