Students at Tom Johnson Boys Academy in West Mifflin experienced living history firsthand during a special presentation with Kenneth B. Morris Jr., a direct descendant of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington.
Morris met with the students to discuss his lineage and the value of knowing where they come from.
“Both of my ancestors understood from a very young age that education was going to be their pathway to freedom,” Morris said.
Morris is the great-great-great-grandson of Douglass, who escaped slavery to become a prominent American abolitionist, and the great-great-grandson of Washington, an influential leader and educator. Today, Morris travels across the country to share the stories of his forebears with listeners of all ages.
During the presentation, Morris Jr. explained how his two historic family lineages came together. His grandparents met in 1941 at Tuskegee Institute, an institution founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881.
“They literally bumped into each other, didn’t know that the other descended from a historic family and they fell in love at first sight and wound up getting married three months later,” he said.
Morris described the ongoing mission behind his nationwide visits to share these family narratives.
“We’re at a time right now again in this country where our history is being erased... that’s really why we do this work,” Morris said. “Our ancestors survived. They endured. They overcame.”
He reminded the audience of their collective responsibility to carry historical lessons forward.
“We all stand on the shoulders of those that came before us and we walk in their shoes and we have an obligation to make sure we’re carrying that torch of freedom forward,” Morris said.
Tom Johnson Boys Academy, which features a curriculum prioritizing preparation for college, held its grand opening in West Mifflin last year. Zion Johnson, a 10th-grade student at the academy, assisted in guiding a tour of the facility during the visit.
“I got to tell him more about what we do at this school…,” Johnson said. “I think everybody should be able to meet with him and talk to him.”
Students at the academy watched the presentation with intense focus, appreciating the personal nature of the history lesson.
“Just telling family stories and stuff and not really like he read it from somewhere,” Johnson said. “He got it straight from his, like, grandparents and parents.”
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