Ladies and gents of Hofstra, introducing... Frederick Douglass

A sculpture of Frederick Douglass in the Monroe Lecture Center Courtyard, the newest addition to Hofstra University Museum’s outdoor sculpture collection, is the first sculpture of an African American at the university.

The "Frederick Douglass Circle" is the brainchild of African American artist Vinnie Bagwell, who won the university's national competition for a Person of Color Sculpture in 2007.

The competition began with 26 submissions which the Person of Color Sculpture Committee reduced to five finalists before President Stuart Rabinowitz made the final selection. Now, Bagwell joins renowned artists such as Tony Rosenthal and Seymour Lipton, whose works are featured across Hofstra’s 240-acre campus.

This likeness of Frederick Douglass, a former slave and later an American abolitionist and women’s suffragist, shares the campus grounds with other sculptures of prominent figures in history including Benjamin Franklin, Aaron Copland and, ironically, slave owner Thomas Jefferson.

Several student requests and referenda spurred the University to invest in artwork which celebrated the growing diversity of its student population.

African American students, who make up one in 10 of the student body, felt that Hofstra failed to showcase the progress and achievement of African Americans. Speaking at the dedication on October 29, 2008, President Stuart Rabinowitz said:
“Several individual students also came to speak to me to express their concerns over the statue of Thomas Jefferson on campus and the lack of any on-campus sculpture that celebrated diversity.”

A student who was present at the dedication said, the statue was a fitting addition t a grand tradition and continued with “Frederick Douglass Circle is a rather powerful piece that shows strength and integrity in his face. The insignia on the back of the chair and the quote that encircles the granite calls for the viewer to reflect on their personal struggle to find the strength to overcome it.”