Frederick Douglass heritage center lacks staff, awaits official opening in Rochester, NY
By APWednesday, July 8, 2009
New Douglass center in NY stuck in limbo
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A long-awaited effort to build a cultural center honoring Frederick Douglass is in limbo as it nears completion in Rochester, N.Y., where the anti-slavery crusader spent his most influential years.
Remodeling a former metalwork shop ate up $1.2 million in government grants. Now not enough money remains to hire staff to run the center. Beyond the hurdle of finding sponsors, operators say they will need to raise at least $450,000 a year through entrance fees and grants to keep the center running.
Douglass spent 25 years as an orator and abolitionist in Rochester, publishing The North Star journal. He died in 1895 and is buried in the city’s Mount Hope Cemetery.
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