Statue unveiled, Douglass hailed for equality fight

WASHINGTON — Frederick Douglass, the slave turned abolitionist, believed in freedom and equality for “all of us, regardless of our race, gender, religion or sexual orientation,” his great-great-granddaughter said Wednesday at the unveiling of a statue of Douglass in the Capitol.

The descendant, Nettie Washington Douglass, spoke beneath the bronze statue of Douglass in Emancipation Hall on the day known as Juneteenth, or Emancipation Day, before a crowd of 600 visitors that included Congressional leaders, relatives, current and former city officials, rights activists and historians.

Ms. Douglass’s nod to her ancestor’s support of equality came as the Supreme Court, in chambers just across the street, was preparing to decide cases involving same-sex marriage, affirmative action and voting rights....