The Frederick Douglass Garden



This statue of a young Frederick Douglass, portraying him in his twenties, is the focal point of the new Frederic Douglass Garden on Hornbake Plaza in front of Hornbake Library.

The Frederick Douglass Garden, our newest garden on campus, will be dedicated next week on Wednesday, November 18 at 2 p.m.  This garden and statue honors Frederick Douglass, a national hero and native of the state of Maryland.  It is located on Hornbake Plaza in front of the Hornbake Library.  Douglass was an abolitionist and gifted orator that believed in social justice. 

Wallace D. Loh, President of the University of Maryland sent out this invitation to the dedication to our community this week:

November 10, 2015

Dear University of Maryland community,

If one listens carefully, one might hear the fire of the great abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass crackling outside of Hornbake Library.  A towering bronze statue has been installed on the plaza and Douglass Square will be formally dedicated next week. 

Etched there in stone and metal, Douglass’ soaring words echo more than a century after his death.

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

The statue catches Douglass in mid-sentence.

“In a composite nation like ours, there should be no rich, no poor, no high, no low, no white, no black, but common…citizenship, equal rights, and a composite destiny.”

Born a slave near Easton, Maryland, Frederick Douglass probably never set foot on this campus. Now, he stands here, in the state’s flagship university, as an enduring role model for social justice and the transformative power of education—values that are at the core of our institution's mission.

“Once you learn to read you will ever be free.”

The vision for this contemplative and inspiring installation began several years ago with Distinguished University Professor of History Ira Berlin. I want to thank him and a faculty/staff committee. They labored and fundraised for five years to bring this magnificent project to fruition. 

The statue was cast in Ireland and shipped here. It is a replica of the one erected there in Douglass’ honor. He spent two years in Ireland and Britain where, he said, he felt treated "not as a color, but as a man." 

Funding comes from private gifts, UMD Foundation funds, and grants from the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture and the Maryland Historical Trust.

Douglass lived in many places, but now he has come home to Maryland.

“I am a Marylander and love Maryland and her people.”

You are invited to the official dedication of Frederick Douglass Square on Wednesday, November 18, at 2 p.m. Expected to be in attendance as honored guests will be both his great-great granddaughter and great-great-great grandson.

Sincerely,

Wallace D. Loh
President, University of Maryland

The University of Maryland's student run paper, The Diamond Back, has some great articles that tell about the development of this memorial to Frederick Douglass.
 

http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/umd-unveils-frederick-douglass-statue-on-hornbake-plaza/article_f18ca2e0-8663-11e5-89e4-f7d73edfd9bb.html
 

http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/umd-finalizes-construction-for-frederick-douglass-square/article_bf7232d0-568d-11e5-85d6-93e0dd932c8a.html
 

http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/umd-to-build-memorial-honoring-frederick-douglass-in-hornbake-plaza/article_a0bbc50a-de5a-11e4-8261-ab87182238fd.html
 

Darwin Feuerstein from the UMD Facilities Design and Construction Department was the project manager for the team that designed this wonderful garden.  He led the design team that included Flora Teeter and Scott Munroe, campus landscape architect.

This new garden is a roof garden that is built over the basement floor of the Hornbake Library.  There are two garden size light wells that were existing features for the basement below on either side of this new garden.  The depth of the soil in this garden is only 8 to 18 inches deep, which means that the plant materials for this sunny garden in an open, hot in summer plaza had to be carefully selected in order to thrive in these challenging conditions.
 

This small garden is a wonderful addition to our campus in my opinion.  I would like to thank all who had a part in helping this garden to become a reality.  Below are pictures of the Frederick Douglass Garden.  I am hoping that these pictures will encourage you to visit and experience the beauty and history portrayed in this garden first hand.