display on Douglass's commitment to education Vandalism Shortly after installation, two students from St. John Fisher College were arrested for severe damage to the replica at the site of the Seward School. The college suspended the students amid widespread community outrage. One of the students stated, "Me and my friend were extremely drunk, and for some reason thought it was a good idea to try and take a statue. It had nothing to do with the identity of the statue whatsoever like everyone thinks." However, one witness stated he heard them yell racial epithets. In June 2020, the replica in Maplewood Park was removed from its base. The statue was found in a nearby gorge, in a damaged condition. Carvin Eison, project director of Re-Energize the Legacy of Frederick Douglass Committee in Rochester, stated that it would be replaced with another replica in storage. Eison said, "I’ve always said if one goes down ten more go back up." The police opened an investigation. President Donald Trump blamed the vandalism on anarchists, while former NAACP president Cornell William Brooks stated his belief that it was done in retaliation for Confederate statues removed in the wake of the George Floyd protests. Ten days later, it was replaced with the spontaneous help of the two men who had vandalized the Seward School site two years before as their way of taking "a step in the right direction." A third statue, this time in Aqueduct Park, was knocked off its pedestal in September 2021. It was replaced with another statue on Oct. 20, 2021. See also List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests References External links Frederick Douglass Monument – Rochester, NY at Waymarking 1899 establishments in New York (state) 1899 sculptures African-American history of New York (state) Bronze sculptures in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Rochester, New York Cultural depictions of Frederick Douglass Granite sculptures in New York (state) Monuments and memorials in New York (state) Monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests Monuments and memorials to victims of slavery in the United States Outdoor sculptures in New York (state) Relocated buildings and structures in New York (state) Removed statues Sculptures of African Americans Sculptures of men in New York (state) Statues in New York (state) Vandalized works of art in New York (state) Underground Railroad in New York (state)