ABOUT

Kenneth B. Morris, Jr. 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 cofounder and president of the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, a nonprofit organization based in Rochester, New York. His career and life path have been driven by a clear focus on Frederick Douglass Family Initiative’s mission “To Build Strong Children and to end systems of exploitation and oppression.”

Among his many accolades, Ken has been a keynote speaker at the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s annual conference in Vienna and Luxembourg, received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of La Verne in California, been named as the first man to be awarded the Women’s E-News 21 Leaders for the 21st Century Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism, and appointed to the Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Commission, serving as Commission Chair, by Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Like his forefathers, Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, he firmly believes that education is the pathway to freedom.