Mayor Domenic J. Sarno joined with Westfield State University President Linda Thompson for a special meet and greet with Nettie Washington Douglass ahead of the University’s 2nd annual “Keeper of the Dream” Dinner in honor of Black History Month that took place at the Sheraton Monarch Place Hotel on Thursday evening. Mayor Sarno had the honor of meeting Ms. Nettie Washington Douglass and presenting her with a special mayoral proclamation ahead of dinner. Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Sonia Dinnall also joined.
Nettie Washington Douglass is the founder and chair emerita of Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives and is a descendent of two great American statesmen, Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington.
Mayor Sarno states, “Thank you to Westfield State University for hosting this event and ‘keeping the dream’ of Dr. King alive. I was honored to meet Nettie Washington Douglass, a descendent of both Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington. Nettie has been representing and honoring their legacies since she was a kid. We talked about the history of both her ancestors in Massachusetts and the impact that their lives and work continue to have on our communities. Booker T. Washington was a great black American educator and author that I quote very often, especially to our students and youth. He said, ‘Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company.’ Ms. Washington Douglass, thank you for being with us again here in Springfield and for your ongoing commitment to justice.”
