WXXI Local Stories
(2003-02-13)
The Reverend Errol Hunt of the Memorial AME Zion Church in Rochester says a news conference will soon be held announcing a grant to support the project. He says "something will happen in this city" through the Frederick Douglass Community Development Corporation.
Hunt spoke Thursday night on WXXI TV's "Need to Know." He says it's a sin that there's no center dedicated solely to Frederick Douglass in Rochester, given his importance to the community's history. Hunt says it's a least partially a racial issue.
Larry Hudson is Director of the Frederick Douglass Institute for African American Studies at the University of Rochester. He says Douglass was of "amazing" importance to the nation and a center dedicated to his memory could stimulate both learning and tourism in the community.
The Douglass Center could occupy an empty factory building on King Street near the Susan B. Anthony House in Rochester. An earlier attempt at a Douglass museum failed due to funding and organizational problems.
Famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass called Rochester his home from 1847 until his move to Washington in 1872.
The Rochester-Monroe County Freedom Trail Commission has declared this "The Year of Frederick Douglass."
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