Capitol's Frederick Douglass Statue Unveiled

The 19th-century orator and writer Frederick Douglass stands tall again in the U.S. Capitol.

A 7-foot bronze likeness of Douglass was unveiled Wednesday in a ceremony led by House Speaker John Boehner.

The statue joins sculpted tributes to fellow black Americans Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Sojourner Truth on permanent display in the Capitol's Emancipation Hall.

Douglass was born a slave in 1818 in Talbot County, Md. He advised President Abraham Lincoln and was a voice for women's rights as well as those of black Americans.

Boehner called the statue "a fitting tribute to one of the greatest Americans and voices for freedom who ever lived."

The statue represents the District of Columbia and joins statues from the nation's 50 states. Each state has two statues in Congress. D.C. and the U.S. territories were allotted one space as part of a compromise.

The statue by Maryland artist Steve Weitzman portrays Douglass in his 50s.

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