Not to be Denied

By Gwenolyn Young

An ancestral African drum summoned the spirit of Frederick Douglass to its new home in Rochester, New York, April 11 at ceremonies launching the Interim Frederick Douglass Museum and Cultural Center.

The arrival of this moment proved that the often beleaguered movement to create a Douglass Museum in Rochester was an idea that would not be denied.

As the insistent drum echoed, a libation ceremony and prayers, followed by a rousing chorus of Negro spirituals, consecrated the former bank building at 300 East Main Street as the interim site of a bold venture to establish the first ever major museum honoring Douglass' memory in Rochester. About 150 well-wishers joined in the joyful ritual marking this historic occasion.

Other highlights of the three-day celebration included a preview of the Isaac and Amy Post mural sculpture created by artist Calvin Hubbard; family and genealogy workshops conducted by Rochesterian Judi Baker and Oloye Adeyemon, curator of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center's Genealogy Initiative in Cincinnati, Ohio; storytelling; and entertainment by the Akoma female singing group, the Brown Brothers gospel harmonizers, and the Heritage Project performers.

The next phase of a long-lived plan is to build a museum in memory of Douglass, a former slave who baffled the world with his accomplishments. The spirited grand opening paid further homage to Douglass' service as a conductor on the Underground Railroad and to the African-American past by designating the new museum a safe house. What once was a dream now has shape and form. These important proceedings that occurred over three days not only christened a building, but also a new beginning. Nearly a decade in coming, the grand opening proved it was an idea that would not be denied.

Led by Councilwoman Maxine Childress Brown, the Frederick Douglass Museum and Cultural Center Foundation, established in 1994, has targeted mid-2000 for the completion of a 65,000-square foot, $40 million permanent structure that will honor the legacy of the famous former slave-turned-international orator. Childress Brown said her group is looking at space in Rochester's historic Third Ward. Meanwhile, the museum opening puts a stake in the ground and serves as a placeholder until the permanent structure materializes. In so doing, it sends many messages to the Rochester community.

Storyteller David Anderson, who led the dedicatory ceremony, called the museum an "essential channel for recounting the legacy, lore and legend of slavery." There have been many attempts in Rochester to form a museum, he said. "This will be a gathering place, an instrument we must use."

Others see the significance of the initiative, as well. Grant Holcomb, director of Rochester's Memorial Art Gallery, who attended the event, called the initiative "supremely significant. It's been a long time coming. I can think of no better way to start the millennium," he said.

That sentiment pleases Childress Brown, who has taken on an awesome task. "I was determined to make this happen," she said a week after the successful museum launch-now able to smile about the effort it took to pull off the opening. "I'm honored to be one of the leaders of this effort."

In her remarks at the grand opening, Childress Brown related the history of the museum project in story form. Sharing a little of the struggle the foundation has encountered to keep the project alive, she urged the audience to chant, "To God we give the praise," as she described the hurdles that led up to the historic day. A key turning point was securing the space on Main Street from the Salvation Army to house the museum. "When they offered us a lease, I said, 'To God we give the praise.'"

Take a Tour

To step into the museum off busy East Main Street takes the visitor back to Douglass' time and into his life. Inside, five points of interest flow off the open, multi-functional main exhibit space. An abolitionist hall, designed to suggest the speech houses in which Douglass spoke, functions as the center of activity. Eight of the original benches from the Corinthian Hall where Douglass actually spoke furnish the hall. An imposing screened image of Douglass, gesturing a point during a speech in the 1850s, hangs in Abolitionist Hall. Opposite this point, museum planners installed a pictorial timeline depicting Douglass's remarkable life, paralleled with major events of the 19th century.

Other aspects of the museum flow from this central space, including an area designated for teaching about the Underground Railroad, display cases with copies of The Frederick Douglass Newspaper, and a museum shop, named the Austin Steward General Store in honor of Rochester's first black businessman. The museum also offers a genealogy lab, soon to be equipped with internet connection, where visitors can research their family history.

The Rochester Museum and Science Center (RMSC) assisted the new Douglass Museum with its current exhibitions by lending a copy of the telegram Douglass's son sent to a Rochester widow to inform her and the community of Douglass's death. The unusual artifact reads, "Father is dead."

"I knew right away what it was," said Leatrice M. Kemp, a librarian and curator of prints at RMSC, who discovered the Douglass wire among a group of ordinary telegrams the museum collects. Kemp called the opening of the Douglass Museum "wonderful."

"The program was really quite moving," she added. "Anything anyone can do to preserve the past is important."

Consultant Paco Padin, assisted by the Gallery Association of New York, took the lead in designing the space, drawing on Childress Brown's vision and the ideas of board members to help shape the space.

"This is what came out of our talks," Padin said, pointing to Abolitionist Hall, the generous usage of Douglass quotes and images throughout the space. "I am proud to be involved in this stage of the project," he offered. "We wanted to present something not only of local, but of national importance."

According to Padin, the Museum has established a relationship with the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site and will bring its first major exhibition of artifacts from the site to Rochester in September.