Heir of two 'great Americans' to speak at HCC Black History Scholarship Gala on Feb. 25
Feb 2, 2017
Nettie Washington Douglass, the great-granddaughter of educator and inventor Booker T. Washington and the great- great-granddaughter of statesman, orator and author Frederick Douglass, will be a speaker at the 2017 Houston Community College (HCC) Black History Scholarship Gala.
The HCC Black History Scholarship Gala takes place at 6 p.m., Saturday, February 25, at Hotel ZaZa, 5701 Main Street in Houston. Information, tables and tickets are available at www.hccs.edu/blackhistory.
Washington Douglass is a rare individual. She is the first person to unite the two bloodlines of Washington and Douglass, two of the most significant and outstanding African Americans in American history. Both Washington and Douglass were game changers who paved the way for many African Americans. Douglass (1818-1895) is called the “father of the civil rights movement.” He freed himself from slavery to become a great orator, author, journalist and diplomat. Washington (1856-1915) established Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in 1881. It was a land-grant school, which became Tuskegee University. Tuskegee remains one of the most-prestigious historically Black colleges in the nation.
Washington Douglass, who was born at Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, is a gifted orator in her own right. She is speaking at the scholarship gala on the eve of the launch in Washington, DC of the Bicentennial edition and celebration of the publication: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, a non-profit organization, is working to give away one million copies of the book as part of its national youth literacy and social service project.
Washington Douglass is a personal friend of the Honorable Teta Banks, the 2017 HCC Black History Scholarship Gala keynote speaker. In 2016 Banks was elected Chair of the United Nations Association (UNA) at its annual Leadership Summit in Washington, DC. The UNA-USA promotes the mission and goals of the United Nations.
Also to be honored at the HCC Black History Scholarship Gala are Houston business legend Anthony “Tony” Chase and attorney Gene Locke as Lifetime Achievement Award recipients. Pastor and First Lady Byron Stevenson and Sonya Taylor Stevenson of the Fort Bend Church and veteran FM radio deejay Kandi Eastman of Majic 102.1 will be honored as Unstoppable Leaders.
For more information about the HCC Black History Scholarship Gala, please call 713.718.5000 or go to www.hccs.edu/blackhistory
