RIT now displaying Douglass statue, 4 cultural flags on campus

(WHAM) - People walking into the Student Alumni Union at Rochester Institute of Technology will see some prominent new additions.

On Friday, RIT unveiled its new sculpture of Frederick Douglass surrounded by a display of four cultural flags.

Sculpter and adjunct professor Olivia Kim created the statue of Douglass, similar to the pieces placed around the City of Rochester in 2018.

“I remembered that a bust of Frederick Douglass once sat in the Student Alumni Union as part of a BACC display," said Keith Jenkins, Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion at RIT. "My recollection of the bust led to acknowledgement of the work of Olivia Kim.”

The sculpture of Douglass was commissioned by RIT President David Munson and Jenkins to honor the 50th anniversary of RIT’s Black Awareness Coordinating Committee (BACC)—RIT’s first cultural club. BACC was created when there were few minority students at RIT and worked to give a more prominent voice for African-American students, and educate the RIT community about Black culture.

Four new flags representing culturally and historically significant parts of RIT were also placed in the Student Alumni Union: the Black Lives Matter flag, the Haudenosaunee flag, the Pride flag, and the Sign Union Flag.