Talbot taps Douglass Honor Society for statue project

In foreground from left, Talbot County Planning Officer Sandy Coyman joins Frederick Douglass Honor Society members Walter Chase, Rosalee Potter and Eric Lowery in a Tuesday presentation to the Talbot County Council on the new Frederick Douglass memorial. PHOTO BY CHRIS POLK

By STEVE NERY
EASTON More than six years after voting to allow the placement of a Frederick Douglass statue on the courthouse lawn, the Talbot County Council on Tuesday voted to approve the Frederick Douglass Honor Society as the group in charge of that statue, with the unveiling planned for this time next year.

The organization appeared before the council to update them on their progress and schedule, which calls for unveiling the statue on June 18, 2011. At the end of the session, Councilman Corey W. Pack made a motion to accept the Frederick Douglass Honor Society as the group in charge of the statue. The motion passed unanimously.

Eric Lowery, the president of the organization, showed artist renderings and a sketch plan for where the statue, to be created by Silver Spring artist Jay Hall Carpenter, will be placed. The overall monument will be nearly 11 feet high, with the bronze statue standing 7-and-a-half feet tall upon a pedestal that will have Douglass’ name engraved on the front and a plaque of his accomplishments and a quote on the back.

The statue will depict Douglass, who grew up as a slave in Talbot County before being sold to Baltimore and later escaping to freedom, when he returned to the courthouse in 1878 and gave a speech, Lowery said. By that time, Douglass had achieved fame as an abolitionist, newspaper editor and author, among other accomplishments.

Town employees will install the foundation to the statue, Lowery said. Some hedges on the courthouse lawn will likely be disturbed, but no trees will be, he said. Lowery said he’s unsure if the town will permit lighting on the statue. The statue will be on the right side of the lawn, across the main walkway from the Talbot Boys monument, which honors Talbot residents who served in the Confederate army.

If the statue requires any building permits, they will be expedited by the town, Easton Mayor Robert Willey said. The town has also donated project management and financial management as well as legal assistance since entering into a partnership with the Frederick Douglass Honor Society in August 2009.

Town Manager Robert Karge said the project has a $100,000 Maryland bond bill, $29,404 remaining from a Community Legacy Grant and $93,352 from donations, for a total of $222,756.

The community has been very supportive, Lowery said, including at the May 1 Frederick Douglass/YMCA 10-mile walk/run and at the March 20 Avalon Theatre event, “An Evening with Frederick Douglass.” The group is planning more fundraisers, including at the Chesapeake Bay Film Festival and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in the fall.

Even after the project is complete, there could be close to $100,000 left over that could potentially be used for other projects, Karge said.

Lowery said the group recently visited Carpenter’s studio to see a half-scale clay model of the statue. Councilman Dirck K. Bartlett asked if the group might be able to get that model to put in the library, and Lowery said he would make that request to Carpenter.

Talbot County Planning Officer Sandy Coyman said he’d received the packet on the proposed sculpture, and there’s nothing in the county code that would raise any issues for the county. The town will handle any zoning and historic district issues, Coyman said.

Bartlett thanked the group for their efforts.

“We’re all extremely proud,”

Bartlett said.

Councilman Philip Carey Foster said that once the statue is on the lawn, even those who were against allowing it at the courthouse will realize what an important part of our heritage Douglass was. No one would have ever imagined that after the 2004 council vote to allow the statue on the lawn, so many years would go by without anything happening, he said.

“Thank you for bringing it to fruition,”

Foster said.

There is one challenge remaining in the form of litigation by Moonyene Jackson-Amis and the Frederick Douglass Memorial Action Coalition. Jackson-Amis, a former Easton councilman, campaigned for the statue and raised most of the money for the project but then repeatedly failed to file paperwork on time or provide a detailed design to the county council. She seeks to regain control of the project, according to the lawsuit.

The complete file for the case, Town of Easton vs. Frederick Douglass Memorial Action Coalition Inc., is not currently available as Talbot County Circuit Court Judge Broughton M. Earnest has it in his chambers. According to online court records, however, Earnest has twice ruled with the town as it seeks to use the money it has been holding for the statue.

On March 22, Earnest entered an order of default against the defendant for failing to enter a plea or answer to a motion. The defendant’s attorney, Grason John-Allen Eckel, was himself the subject of a court case at the time, as he was convicted on Feb. 23 of fourth-degree sex offense, second-degree assault and false imprisonment, and sentenced on March 25 to pay $2,500 in fines.

On April 29, Earnest struck down an emergency motion to allow the temporary admission of Jackson-Amis as the coalition’s attorney on the grounds that the papers were filed by a person “not admitted to practice law” and ruled that the town could use the money it was holding for the purpose of erecting a Douglass statue.

On June 1, however, the defendant filed several motions for relief and the case was reopened. The town filed answers to the motions on June 18, and Jackson-Amis filed an affidavit on June 21.

Willey said the town hopes to hear soon that it can proceed with using the funds.