March 29, 2024

Hoyer Visits With Douglass Descendant

Pictured from left are Mark Leone, a professor at the University of Maryland; Ken Morris, a descendant of Frederick Douglass; and Congressman Steny H. Hoyer.

Congressman Steny H. Hoyer met with Ken Morris, the great-great-great grandson of Frederick Douglass and the great-great grandson of Booker T. Washington, and University of Maryland Professor Mark Leone in February, Black History Month.

Mr. Morris serves as chair of the commission celebrating the bicentennial anniversary of Frederick Douglass’ birth. Mr. Morris also is co-founder and president of Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, a non-profit which seeks to continue the legacy of Frederick Douglass (1818-1895). Professor Leone has led excavations of the Wye House Plantation on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

“I was very pleased to have the opportunity to meet with Ken and Professor Leone to learn more about the important life and legacy of Marylander Frederick Douglass,” said Congressman Hoyer (D-Md., 5th). “Frederick Douglass was a great American, a son of Maryland, and a civil rights hero. During Black History Month, let us reaffirm our commitment to the work of Frederick Douglass and other leaders in the abolitionist movement.”

Mr. Douglass, born on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, was one of the foremost leaders of the abolitionist movement, which fought to end slavery within the US in the decades prior to the Civil War. A brilliant speaker, Mr. Douglass was asked by the American Anti-Slavery Society to engage in a tour of lectures, and so became recognized as one of America’s first great black speakers, according to a biography on the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives website.

Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives is an abolitionist organization co-founded by direct descendants of Mr. Douglass and Mr. Washington (1856-1915). FDFI combines lessons from the legacies of both men. Its mission: “To Advance Freedom through Knowledge and Strategic Action.” FDFI has been a leader in implementing human trafficking prevention education curricula in classrooms nationally since 2007.

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For more information about House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, visit his Leader member page.

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