When Visionaries Unite: The Historic Partnership of Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald
In-person registration includes a 6:00 p.m. reception and 7:00 p.m. program.
The partnership between Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald marks one of the earliest collaborations between Black and Jewish communities in America. Their shared mission to build schools for Black students across the segregated South reflected a visionary commitment to educational equality. Despite the constraints of Jim Crow, they forged a path for social change and education. Descendants of Washington and Rosenwald join us for a personal and insightful look into their ancestors' shared beliefs in the power of education to transform lives.
About the Speakers
Kenneth Morris descends from two of the most influential names in American history: he is the great-great-great-grandson of Frederick Douglass and the great-great-grandson of Booker T. Washington. Morris continues his family's legacy of anti-slavery and educational work as co-founder and president of Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives (FDFI), a nonprofit organization based in Rochester, New York. He has appeared in several documentaries, including Abraham Lincoln and The American Presidency with Bill Clinton on the History Channel, and 1000 Years of Slavery on the Smithsonian Channel. Morris received a Bachelor of Arts Religion degree from the Ecumenical Center for Black Church Studies at the University of La Verne. As did Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, he firmly believes that education is the pathway to freedom.
Stephanie Deutsch is the author of You Need a Schoolhouse, Booker T. Washington, Julius Rosenwald and the Building of Schools for the Segregated South, published by Northwestern University Press. She serves on the board of the Campaign to Create the Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park, editing its newsletter and speaking at events promoting the creation of the park which would be the first to honor a Jewish American. Deutsch holds a master’s degree in Soviet Union Area Studies from Harvard. She is married to retired television director David Deutsch, a great-grandson of Julius Rosenwald. They have four grown children and eight grandchildren.
Distance From Key Points of Interest
- Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center: 0.59 miles
- Dallas Love Field Airport: 5.77 miles
- DFW International Airport: 15.91 miles
- AT&T Stadium: 16.72 miles
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