Kenneth B. Morris Jr., the multi-great grandson of Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass, 
convened other descendants of historical Black figures at the White House. 
(Photo by TheGrio/Gerren Keith Gaynor)
 
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 “Let’s keep this history alive, especially in the face of those who would attempt to edit it out,” Vice President Kamala Harris said during a surprise appearance at the historic gathering.Dozens of descendants and families of prominent Black civil rights leaders and historical figures gathered at the White House on Tuesday for a historic convening for Black History Month, fulfilling a plan set in motion nearly 20 years ago.

“It’s been really wonderful,” Kenneth B. Morris Jr., standing outside the West Wing, said of the gathering he helped organize.Morris, a multi-great grandson of Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass, and more than two dozen other descendants and family members of historical Black luminaries and leaders had come together for the first time at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, part of the White House complex.

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(Photo by Juan Benn Jr./The Hilltop) Kenneth B. Morris Jr., a direct descendant of both Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, delivers a speech to other members of the Descendants and Congressional Black Caucus on Feb. 13, 2024.