[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 22 (Friday, February 23, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S1300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      TRIBUTE TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS AND THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, today I join with the citizens 
of Highland Beach, MD, as they pay tribute to the memory of Frederick 
Douglass--one of Maryland's most celebrated native sons--by preserving 
his historic house as a museum. His house, facing the Chesapeake Bay, 
looks out onto the open sea and was a joyful reminder to Douglass of 
the freedom he so greatly treasured.
  While Frederick Douglass was born in Talbot County, MD, and worked on 
the docks of Fells Point in Baltimore, he found peace and solace at his 
home in Highland Beach. Highland Beach was the first town to be 
established by African-Americans in the State of Maryland and was 
officially incorporated in 1922, although settlers had been living in 
the vicinity for decades. The house that is dedicated here today was 
designed by Douglass, but sadly, he never saw its completion. Instead 
his son fulfilled the task that was set forth by his father, ensuring 
that the second floor balcony that Douglass had dreamed of was erected 
so that, ``as a free man, I could look across the bay to the land where 
I was born a slave.''
  The Frederick Douglass house was placed on the National Registry of 
Historic Places in 1992 after extensive renovations were completed. The 
house has also received the Orlando Rideout Prize for exceptional 
renovation in December 1995 by the Anne Arundel County Trust for 
Preservation. While these awards reflect the beauty and history of 
Douglass' home, that Frederick Douglass could own a home as a free man 
is the true monument. Douglass rightly believed that owning property 
was a very important economic accomplishment for African-Americans in 
the years following the Civil War.
  It is, in my view, most fitting that the commemoration of one of 
Maryland's most noted African-Americans comes during Black History 
Month. Over the course of history, Maryland has been the home of many 
prominent African-Americans including writer Langston Hughes, actor and 
singer Paul Robeson, Washington Judge Robert Terrell, and educator and 
author Booker T. Washington; all of whom either visited or lived in 
Highland Beach.
  Mr. President, as the Frederick Douglass house becomes a monument in 
the splendid community of Highland Beach, it provides an avenue for 
residents and visitors to share in its unique and distinguished past. I 
join the citizens of Anne Arundel County in demonstrating their pride 
in the history of Highland Beach and their expectation of continued 
success in the years ahead.

                          ____________________