 A Legacy of Faith and Ideas and a History
of Strength and Self-Determination
Dr. Moton spent his adult life empowering African Americans to lead self-sufficient lives despite the often desperate state of their circumstances. An attitude of personal responsibility allowed him, born into poverty - the son of slaves, to achieve greatness and affect positive change for the African American community.
Because he understood that God’s plans are always bent toward justice, he used his life and relationships to work towards that end. Dr. Moton’s relationship with Julius Rosenwald, the Chairman of the Board for Sears and Roebuck, led to hundreds of Rosenwald Schools being built throughout the south to educate black students.
Dr. Moton was largely responsible for the construction of a Veteran’s Hospital in Alabama for black soldiers returning from World War I. Despite protest from the white community and threats by the Ku Klux Klan, Moton saw to it that Black administrators and doctors governed the facility.
The Gloucester Institute honors the memory of Dr. Robert Russa Moton and other African American leaders from Frederick Douglas, to Sojourner Truth; from Booker T. Washington to W.E.B. DuBois, who, despite their disagreement on strategy, never wavered on the goal – nurturing "strong and self-reliant black Americans." |
