douglass leadership house

For ten years, the Douglass Leadership House on the River Campus has served as a symbol of—and space for—Black excellence, persistence, and fortitude.

The house will become a “living-learning community” with an umbrella of support across the College and institution-wide units, including the Frederick Douglass Institute.

During this year's Martin Luther King Jr. Day Commemorative Address, political commentator Symone Sanders focused on Dr. King's work after the civil rights movement of 1965, and emphasized his lifelong mission of challenging the status quo. "For young people particularly on college campuses," she said, "I like to remind them that you are some of the most powerful people in the world."

On the 50th anniversary of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., the University will join others across the nation who will ring their bells in tribute.

Caryl English ’18, Delvin Moody '18, and Charlisa Goodlet ’17 have followed different paths that have led them to leadership roles, each serving as the president of student organizations focused on issues of race, black culture, activism, and advocacy.

Looking back at the life of the abolitionist leader and activist, Rashad Moore ’17 asks some African-American campus leaders: What does Frederick Douglass mean to us today?

Before delivering the University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address, Marc Morial took some time to speak with students at the Douglass Leadership House about activism, race, and the keys to leading a successful life.

Marc Morial, the president of the National Urban League and a former mayor of New Orleans, delivered the University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address, after the event had been postponed due to weather. "Every generation has a responsibility and a mission to improve things," Morial told students at the Douglass Leadership House earlier in the day. "When you succeed, go back," he said. "Do not forget the communities from whence you've come." (University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)

About 150 students and supporters marched peacefully across the River Campus on Friday to demand that "the University of Rochester's administration implement immediate and lasting changes that will reduce intolerable acts of racism that students of color endure at our University."

Khalil Gibran Muhammad, director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library, meets with students at the Douglass Leadership House before delivering the annual University of Rochester Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Address.