Statue of celebrated orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass vandalized and toppled

The statue and its base were thoroughly removed.

The Democrat and Chronicle states that the statue was toppled, and "had been placed over the fence to the gorge and was leaning against the fence." This per a statement from the Rochester police: "The base and lower part of the statue was damaged, as was a finger on the statue's left hand."

Maplewood Park was a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Carvin Eison, who worked on the project that erected the statue of Douglass in Rochester, said that while the damage was too extensive for repair, it would be replaced.

Reports from Twitter accounts noted that bits of the statue littered the area.

Douglass was an author, an activist, and a noted orator. His autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, has been required reading for many American school children over the years. It was written in 1845.

He wrote four other books, many speeches, and was self-taught. He advocated for the right of women to vote, as well.

Douglass is believed to have been born around 1818, in Maryland's Talbot County. Douglass was the name he adopted after he freed himself from bondage.

After many failed attempts at liberation, he finally made it to New York, and found refuge in the home of David Ruggles, an abolitionist who held a safe house.

Along with his wife Anna Murray, who he met during his time in confinement though she was free, Douglass moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts.

It was here that he began his work in the abolitionist movement. He suffered injuries as a result of violent opposition to his work as he travelled across the US to speak against the institution of slavery.

Douglass lived for a time in Rochester, NY, as well, at 297 Alexander Street.