Standing in the Shadow of Greatness
The first leg of our Footsteps to Freedom tours is in the books
Yesterday, at the corner of South Avenue and Robinson Drive, in Frederick Douglass Memorial Plaza, Rochester, New York, nearly 100 educators from California gathered with me in front of the statue of my great-great-great-grandfather, Frederick Douglass.
This gathering was part of our Footsteps to Freedom Underground Railroad Study Tour, an 8-day journey through history that begins in Cincinnati, travels through key Underground Railroad sites in the U.S. and Canada, and ends here in Rochester, where my ancestor lived, worked, and is laid to rest.
We gathered beneath the first public monument in the United States ever dedicated to an African American. We stood as living proof that Frederick Douglass’s legacy is not confined to history. It is alive in each one of us who teaches, leads, and peacefully agitates for justice in our communities.
This moment marked the culmination of the first leg of our four-part Footsteps tour. For twenty years, I’ve walked this path with educators who are committed to telling the truth and reckoning with the nation’s past so that we might build a better future for our children. And here in Rochester, where the Douglass family built a home, published The North Star, shaped a movement, and left an indelible mark, we find not only an ending, but a beginning.
We don’t just visit sites. We unearth stories. We confront silences. We reconnect history to humanity.
Standing before this statue, surrounded by educators who will return to classrooms and communities in Southern California with a renewed purpose, I felt the weight and the gift of my family legacy. My great ancestor once said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” These educators are doing just that, and I thank them for all they do to build strong children! 🙏🏾
If you ever wonder what hope looks like, it looks like this.
In freedom,
Ken