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I wish I had something nicer to say about all this than "good luck," but having watched this important task get kicked around for the past 15 years among wannabe politicians and community leaders I can't.
There are some parallel lessons between this and the MOC saga for public history folks to learn.
Douglass center proposal advances
Funds nearly in hand for city museum site
Lara Becker Liu
Staff writer, Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle
(January 25, 2007) — A place of honor for famed orator, publisher and abolitionist Frederick Douglass may yet be established here.
After nearly a decade of struggle to establish a Douglass institution — a period marked by a loss of funding and Douglass artifacts to other locales — members of the Frederick Douglass Resource Center on Wednesday announced their intention of opening a center as early as this summer.
"I'm glad it's here finally," said the Rev. Errol E. Hunt, president and CEO of the resource center. "We need to move on and get it done and just tell the story of the contributions of people."
The center would be at 36 King St., which was purchased in June 2003 for $150,000 by the Frederick Douglass Community Development Corp., of which Hunt is the founder. The development corporation has been awaiting a state grant it needed to pay off a loan for the building.
Formerly a sheet metal factory, the building has been vacant and requires extensive renovation, including demolition of half of it. The center would span about 13,000 square feet, including property at 38 King St., and feature an auditorium with room for 120, a computer resource library and exhibit area, and classroom, meeting and office space.
The center would pay tribute to more than Douglass; it also would celebrate the contributions of people such as Susan B. Anthony and Harriet Tubman, and serve as a "location from which African-American heritage and culture can be articulated," according to Hunt.
It would be run by a paid staff of six, including Hunt and his son, Gerry Hunt, who will serve as vice president of programs and operations.
"I see incredible promise," said the Rev. Ronald Hoston of Bethesda Church of God in Christ, and treasurer of the resource center's board. "The vision is phenomenal, and a benefit to this community, to our children. It's our story, and we're telling it."
Completed by summer?
Center officials are hopeful that renovations will be complete by this summer, but several major hurdles have yet to be cleared. The development corporation is still owed the remainder of its $651,000 state grant, of which it has so far received $150,000. And officials need to raise an additional $400,000 to cover the renovation and operation of the center for one year. They also must get approval from City Council of their plans for the King Street site, although Hunt said officials at a hearing last month were receptive to his ideas.
Cathy Jimenez, a spokeswoman for the state's Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said the state needs documentation about taxes and insurance on the building before the remaining grant money can be disbursed.
"As they satisfy the requirements, the money will be distributed," she said.
Ancillary space
Meanwhile, an ancillary exhibit space is scheduled to open on Feb. 2 at 35 State St. The building, remarkable for its marble façade and tall columns, has been leased through May, though Hunt hopes to raise another $700,000 to buy and fix it up.
Most recently a bank, it currently houses an exhibit on loan from the Forging the Freedom Trail Project Foundation Inc. that includes Underground Railroad artifacts from around the state.
The owner of the building, attorney and investor James Philippone, said that if Hunt is able to buy it, he will donate $100,000 to the center.
"I was very much impressed with the Reverend," said Philippone. "I thought he was a man who had vision. Frankly, I liked him."
Support needed
Hunt will need that kind of support if past attempts to establish a Douglass institution are any indication. A center that did open, The Frederick Douglass Museum & Cultural Center, closed less than two years later, in December 2000. Xerox Corp., which had awarded that museum $500,000, pulled the grant, saying that the museum failed to meet its goals. A year later, an attempt to convert the 1892 Madison Hotel into a Douglass resource center had to be abandoned when the roof fell in and the city was forced to demolish it. The state, as a result, pulled a $204,000 grant awarded to Monroe County.
Meanwhile, museums of African-American history have opened elsewhere, including the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, which opened in Baltimore.
"I'm angry as hell as to what happened in the past, because of the ridicule. Folks just did not work," Hunt said.
Center officials said they are in talks with representatives of the Smithsonian Institution and other museums, including the Rochester Museum & Science Center, about borrowing or acquiring Douglass artifacts. Little of what's displayed in the resource center will be there permanently, Hunt said.
John M. Griffin, a longtime community member whom Hunt has asked to be part of the center's advisory board, said he would work on establishing a trust for the center, once it's up and running.
Rochester years
Douglass, an escaped slave from Maryland, was a leader in the abolition movement, an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln and an international advocate for human rights.
The 25 years he lived in Rochester are considered his most productive. He published the North Star, an abolitionist newspaper, and became recognized as a compelling orator and author. He is buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery.
"Very few people even realize Frederick Douglass is buried here. They think Washington, D.C., or Maryland, anywhere but here," said J.D. Jackson Jr., president of the local graduate chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., who was present at Wednesday's announcement and said he planned to help with fundraising efforts for the resource center.
"There's been so many starts and stops," he added. "I think this is the time we are finally going to realize the vision."
LBECKER@DemocratandChronicle.com
There are some parallel lessons between this and the MOC saga for public history folks to learn.
Douglass center proposal advances
Funds nearly in hand for city museum site
Lara Becker Liu
Staff writer, Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle
(January 25, 2007) — A place of honor for famed orator, publisher and abolitionist Frederick Douglass may yet be established here.
After nearly a decade of struggle to establish a Douglass institution — a period marked by a loss of funding and Douglass artifacts to other locales — members of the Frederick Douglass Resource Center on Wednesday announced their intention of opening a center as early as this summer.
"I'm glad it's here finally," said the Rev. Errol E. Hunt, president and CEO of the resource center. "We need to move on and get it done and just tell the story of the contributions of people."
The center would be at 36 King St., which was purchased in June 2003 for $150,000 by the Frederick Douglass Community Development Corp., of which Hunt is the founder. The development corporation has been awaiting a state grant it needed to pay off a loan for the building.
Formerly a sheet metal factory, the building has been vacant and requires extensive renovation, including demolition of half of it. The center would span about 13,000 square feet, including property at 38 King St., and feature an auditorium with room for 120, a computer resource library and exhibit area, and classroom, meeting and office space.
The center would pay tribute to more than Douglass; it also would celebrate the contributions of people such as Susan B. Anthony and Harriet Tubman, and serve as a "location from which African-American heritage and culture can be articulated," according to Hunt.
It would be run by a paid staff of six, including Hunt and his son, Gerry Hunt, who will serve as vice president of programs and operations.
"I see incredible promise," said the Rev. Ronald Hoston of Bethesda Church of God in Christ, and treasurer of the resource center's board. "The vision is phenomenal, and a benefit to this community, to our children. It's our story, and we're telling it."
Completed by summer?
Center officials are hopeful that renovations will be complete by this summer, but several major hurdles have yet to be cleared. The development corporation is still owed the remainder of its $651,000 state grant, of which it has so far received $150,000. And officials need to raise an additional $400,000 to cover the renovation and operation of the center for one year. They also must get approval from City Council of their plans for the King Street site, although Hunt said officials at a hearing last month were receptive to his ideas.
Cathy Jimenez, a spokeswoman for the state's Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said the state needs documentation about taxes and insurance on the building before the remaining grant money can be disbursed.
"As they satisfy the requirements, the money will be distributed," she said.
Ancillary space
Meanwhile, an ancillary exhibit space is scheduled to open on Feb. 2 at 35 State St. The building, remarkable for its marble façade and tall columns, has been leased through May, though Hunt hopes to raise another $700,000 to buy and fix it up.
Most recently a bank, it currently houses an exhibit on loan from the Forging the Freedom Trail Project Foundation Inc. that includes Underground Railroad artifacts from around the state.
The owner of the building, attorney and investor James Philippone, said that if Hunt is able to buy it, he will donate $100,000 to the center.
"I was very much impressed with the Reverend," said Philippone. "I thought he was a man who had vision. Frankly, I liked him."
Support needed
Hunt will need that kind of support if past attempts to establish a Douglass institution are any indication. A center that did open, The Frederick Douglass Museum & Cultural Center, closed less than two years later, in December 2000. Xerox Corp., which had awarded that museum $500,000, pulled the grant, saying that the museum failed to meet its goals. A year later, an attempt to convert the 1892 Madison Hotel into a Douglass resource center had to be abandoned when the roof fell in and the city was forced to demolish it. The state, as a result, pulled a $204,000 grant awarded to Monroe County.
Meanwhile, museums of African-American history have opened elsewhere, including the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, which opened in Baltimore.
"I'm angry as hell as to what happened in the past, because of the ridicule. Folks just did not work," Hunt said.
Center officials said they are in talks with representatives of the Smithsonian Institution and other museums, including the Rochester Museum & Science Center, about borrowing or acquiring Douglass artifacts. Little of what's displayed in the resource center will be there permanently, Hunt said.
John M. Griffin, a longtime community member whom Hunt has asked to be part of the center's advisory board, said he would work on establishing a trust for the center, once it's up and running.
Rochester years
Douglass, an escaped slave from Maryland, was a leader in the abolition movement, an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln and an international advocate for human rights.
The 25 years he lived in Rochester are considered his most productive. He published the North Star, an abolitionist newspaper, and became recognized as a compelling orator and author. He is buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery.
"Very few people even realize Frederick Douglass is buried here. They think Washington, D.C., or Maryland, anywhere but here," said J.D. Jackson Jr., president of the local graduate chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., who was present at Wednesday's announcement and said he planned to help with fundraising efforts for the resource center.
"There's been so many starts and stops," he added. "I think this is the time we are finally going to realize the vision."
LBECKER@DemocratandChronicle.com
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