Subject (Topic)
Abolitionists--United States
Anti-slavery movements--United States
Michigan--History
Midwestern United States
Public art
Public sculpture
Slavery--Michigan
Subject (Name)
Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895
Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture
Bronze plaque on granite base:
Frederick Douglass
Dedicated May 11, 2017, in proud recognition of the speech given at Hillsdale College by Frederick Douglass on January 11, 1863
"Neither law, learning, nor religion, is addressed to any man’s color or race. Science, education, the Word of God, and all the virtues known among men, are recommended to us, not as races, but as men. We are not recommended to love or hate any particular variety of the human family more than any other. Not as Ethiopians; not as Caucasians; not as Mongolians; not as Afro-Americans, or Anglo-Americans, are we addressed, but as men. God and nature speak to our manhood, and to our manhood alone. Here all ideas of duty and moral obligation are predicated."
—Blessing of Liberty and Education—September 3, 1894
With Gratitude to Mr. James Nagy in Memory of his beloved Wanda Nagy
Dr. & Mrs. Larry Arnn
Bruce Wolfe—Sculptor
"Frederick Douglass: A Brief History." Hillsdale College Blog. Accessed May 24, 2020, https://www.hillsdale.edu/frederick-douglass/.
"Hillsdale College Unveils Statue of Frederick Douglass." Press Relase, News and Media, Hillsdale College. Accessed May 24, 2020, https://www.hillsdale.edu/news-and-media/press-releases/hillsdale-college-unveils-statue-frederick-douglass/.
"A Man Worth Emulating: Frederick Douglass Statue Dedicated on Hillsdale's Liberty Walk." Hillsdale College Blog. Accessed May 24, 2020, https://www.hillsdale.edu/hillsdale-blog/hillsdale-magazine/worth-emulating-frederick-douglass/.
"Frederick Douglass, Statue Unveiling at Hillsdale College." Bruce Wolfe. Accessed May 24, 2020, https://www.brucewolfe.com/frederick-douglass/.
Two gateway pillars (approximately fifteen feet tall), topped with candles symbolizing the “Flame of Freedom,” flank Ed Dwight's memorial to the Underground Railroad. The work, which overlooks the Detroit River, includes a ten-by-twelve-foot sculptural group: eight escaping slaves and an Underground Railroad Conductor, who gazes and points towards Canada. Dwight modeled the conductor after George DeBaptiste, a freeman from Virginia who migrated to Detroit in 1846. DeBaptiste was an active abolitionist, Underground Railroad operative, and leader of the Vigilant Committee of Detroit, a watchdog and legal advocacy group for the black community.
Subject (Topic)
Abolitionists--United States
Antislavery movements--United States
Fugitive slaves--United States
Michigan--History
Midwestern United States
Public art
Public sculpture
Underground Railroad
Subject (Name)
Hussey, Erastus, 1800-1889
Hussey, Sarah Bowen, 1808-1899
Tubman, Harriet, 1822-1913
Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture
Bronze plaque:
Memorial to the Underground Railroad. From the 1830s to the 1861, thousands of slaves in the southern United States courageously escaped northward to freedom to what became known as the Underground Railroad. Along this secret network, ‘conductors’ like Battle Creek’s Erastus and Sarah Hussey, whose likenesses are captured in this memorial, took great personal risks to ensure the safety of escaping slaves. Harriet Tubman, known as the Black Moses, was a national heroine of this epic struggle and is depicted leading another brave family away from the shackles of slavery. This memorial honors the Underground Railroad and is dedicated to the strength of the human spirit in the quest for freedom. Ed Dwight, Sculptor. Denver, Colorado. 1993. This sculpture was made possible by a gift from the Glenn A. Cross Estate and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.
“Sharing the Legacies that Promote Social Justice.” W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Accessed March 19, 2018. https://www.wkkf.org/news-and-media/article/2008/01/sharing-the-legacies-that-promote-social-justice.
“Battle Creek Underground Railroad Sculpture.” Detroit1701.org. Accessed March 19, 2018. http://detroit1701.org/Battle%20Creek%20Underground%20RR%20Sculpture.html.
Glesner, Anthony Patrick. "Laura Haviland: Neglected Heroine of the Underground Railroad." Michigan Historical Review 21, no. 1 (Spring 1995): 19-48.
Subject (Topic)
Abolitionist--United States
American Midwest
Antislavery movements--United States
Michigan--History
Public art
Public sculpture
Underground Railroad
Subject (Name)
Tubman, Harriet, 1822-1913
Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture
Bronze plaque on front of statue:
Harriet Tubman, 1820-1913. Led slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad earning her the name of ‘Moses of Her People.’ Bronze statue created by Jane DeDecker and installed in 2006.
Inscription on back:
"Children if you are tired, keep going. If you're hungry, keep going. If you're scared, keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going." Harriet Tubman
"Library Plaza." Ypsilanti District Library. Accessed March 18, 2018, https://www.ypsilibrary.org/about/visit/ydl-michigan/library-plaza/.
"Harriet Tubman Statues by Jane DeDecker Across the US." Wander Woman Project. Accessed May 25, 2020, https://wanderwomenproject.com/places/harriet-tubman-statues-by-jane-dedecker-across-the-us/.