Message from the President

By Walter Hudson | President, Frederick Douglass Project

"In a composite nation like ours, as before the law, there should be no rich, no poor, no high, no low, no white, no black, but common country, common citizenship, equal rights and a common destiny" - Frederick Douglass

For too long, underserved communities—from Foundational Black Americans to East African refugees, Latinos, Hmong, and dozens of other immigrant populations—have been told a lie: that America has no future for them because of its prejudice.

Yes, prejudice exists. Discrimination is real. Bias remains pervasive. But the deeper truth is this: the story of America is not one of permanent division, but of reconciliation and renewal. For over 250 years, wave after wave of immigrants have arrived on these shores, often greeted with suspicion, exclusion, and hardship. Yet over time, each has found a place in the vibrant mosaic of American life.

Why? Because the American ideal—E pluribus unum, “out of many, one”—is not a slogan, but a vision. It does not demand uniformity. It invites unity. It welcomes newcomers into a society rooted in shared principles: individual rights, religious liberty, equal protection under the law, and representative government. And at the same time, it respects your right to hold fast to your culture, your faith, your heritage, and your values.

But there are those who benefit from keeping us divided. They want to pit you against your neighbors, and your neighbors against you. They stoke resentment to consolidate their own power. If they succeed, we all lose—reduced to pawns in a system built not to serve us, but to extract from us.

The Frederick Douglass Project exists to resist that scheme.

We stand in the legacy of our namesake, who believed that the American ideal—though never perfectly realized—remains the best hope for human dignity this side of heaven. Our mission is to finally fulfill the promise that has too often been dangled just out of reach: to listen—truly listen—to your experiences, your priorities, and your expectations. And then to shape policies that promote generational wealth, family legacy, and the dignity of earned success.

Join us. Let us hear from you. Say what others refuse to take seriously.

Together, let us build a state and a nation where you can achieve the American dream—not because it's handed to you, but because you're free to pursue it.

— Walter Hudson

President, Frederick Douglass Project

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