Timely Connections: Frederick Douglass & the Emancipation Memorial
Amid calls for removal of the Emancipation Memorial, also called the Freedmen’s Monument, in Washington D.C. and a replica of it in Boston, Washington Post reporter DaNeen L. Brown considers the statue and takes a look back at a speech made by Frederick Douglass at the D.C. unveiling ceremony on April 14, 1876. In the speech, Douglass recognizes the dichotomy of Lincoln’s views on slavery while ultimately celebrating the proclamation.
If Harriet Hosmer‘s design for the memorial—four African-American figures, ascending from slave through producer and contraband, culminating in citizen-soldier—had been used instead, what might public sentiment towards it be today? By looking critically and broadly at our past, including what motivated different people of the times, and considering a broad range of viewpoints, the more thoughtfully we can approach the present and more ably work together build a better, more respectful and inclusive future. What did you learn from investigating the resources below?
Primary sources
- Oration by Frederick Douglass Delivered on the Occasion of the Unveiling of the Freedmen’s Monument in Memory of Abraham Lincoln April 14, 1876
- Freedmen’s Monument to Abraham Lincoln column 8, The Portland Daily Press (Portland, Me.), 13 March 1876
- The Triumph of His Race: A Masterly Oration by Hon. Fred. Douglass column 8, National Republican (Washington City (D.C.)), 17 April 1886
- A Suggestion to the Editor of the National Republican bottom column 2, National Republican (Washington City (D.C.)), 19 April 1886
- Emancipation Memorial image set
- Am I not a man and a brother? woodcut image
- Harriet Hosmer portrait
Contemporary news sources
- Frederick Douglass delivered a Lincoln reality check at Emancipation Memorial unveiling Washington Post June 27, 2020
- Rally Calls for Removal of DC Statue Showing Lincoln, Freed Black Man NBC Washington June 26, 2020
- At Lincoln Park, Generations Disagree Over Statue Removal As Protests Enter Fifth Week DCist WAMU 88.5 June 27, 2020
- DC’s Emancipation Memorial, target of protests, was funded by former slaves: reports Fox News June 26, 2020
- Why A History Professor Says ‘Racist’ Emancipation Memorial Shouldn’t Come Down NPR All Things Considered June 27, 2020
- The True Story of the Freed Slave Kneeling at Lincoln’s Feet The New Republic July 1, 2020
- What Frederick Douglass Had to Say About Monuments SmithsonianMag.com June 30, 2020
- Spotlight Essay: Thomas Ball Mildred Kemper Art Museum April 2015
- Book Review of Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves: Race, War, and Monument in Nineteenth- Century America by Kirk Savage The American Historical Review, Vol. 104, No. 3 (Jun., 1999) .pdf accessed via Xavier.edu
Related teaching resources
- Frederick Douglass on Abraham Lincoln: The Writer and Abolitionist Remembers the President in Library of Congress Primary Sources Teaching with the Library of Congress February 7, 2013
- African-American History Month: A Forgotten Tribute to President Abraham Lincoln Library of Congress Blog February 14, 2019
- Frederick Douglass: Activist and Autobiographer Teaching with the Library of Congress November 20, 2014
- Hearing Frederick Douglass: His Speech on John Brown Library of Congress Blog June 15, 2020
- History in Our Backyards: Monuments and Memorials Minerva’s Kaleidoscope July 30, 2021
- Learning from the Source: The Art of Tribute
- Learning from the Source: Monumental Men
- Timely Connections: Frederick Douglass & Scientific Racism
- Teaching with Monuments and Memorials: Defining Monuments Teaching with the Library of Congress May 18, 2021
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