A pair of historians have turned up a letter from Frederick Douglass that explains his thoughts on the Freedman’s Monument, about which I wrote a few days ago. You’ll recall that I pointed out the other day that the oldest source we had for the idea that Douglass disapproved of the kneeling position of the slave in the monument was from a 1916 book that quoted the 40 year old memory of a 70 year old man on the subject—and that we had nothing from Douglass himself. Now we do. Here’s the letter:
Admirable as is the monument by Mr. Hall in Lincoln park, it does not, as it seems to me, tell the whole truth, and perhaps no one monument could be made to tell the whole truth of any subject which it might be designed to illustrate. The mere act of breaking the negro's chains was the act of Abraham Lincoln, and is beautifully expressed in this monument. But the act by which the negro was made a citizen of the United States and invested with the elective franchise was pre-eminently the act of President U.S. Grant, and this is nowhere seen in the Lincoln monument. The negro here, though rising, is still on his knees and nude. What I want to see before I die is a monument representing the negro, not couchant on his knees like a four-footed animal, but erect on his feet like a man. There is room in Lincoln park for another monument, and I throw out this suggestion to the end that it may be taken up and acted upon.
This is a marvelously Douglassonian statement—and, if I may say so myself, entirely consistent with what I predicted Douglass’s views would be, if known. Douglass does not impugn the memorial, let alone call for its removal. Nor does he denigrate Lincoln. Rather—just as in his famous speech dedicating the statue—he views it objectively in the context of its time as representing only the first step toward equal liberty. His suggestion that there should be a new monument depicting the black man standing, was a marvelous one in its day and it remains one now. David Blight has already recommended a new statue of Douglass, in the act of giving his dedication speech. That, or something less specific, would be a fine addition to the park, and wholly in keeping with Douglass’s own suggestion.
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