ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WKBW) — A statue of Frederick Douglass in Rochester was damaged and then torn off its pedestal over the weekend.
According to Rochester police, the statue was taken from the city's Maplewood Park on Sunday, which was a site along the historic Underground Railroad.
Police say the statue was found at the edge of the Genesee River, and had damage to its finger and base.
This coincided with the the anniversary of Douglass reciting the, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,” speech on July 5th, 1852.
In the speech Douglass regarded the Fourth of July as, "a day that reveals to him [the slave], more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim.”
If you have any information call Rochester police at (585) 428-5990.
