DALLAS — Dallas Independent School District says a new secondary school opening in the fall of 2021 will be named after Dallas social justice advocate and pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church Frederick Douglass Haynes III.
The school will be on the campus of Paul Quinn College and will serve students in grades 6-12, with plans to become an international baccalaureate program, the district says.
“Educational inequity leads to poverty and poverty leads to violence. What you’re seeing here today is the school board addressing inequities in Dallas,” Dallas ISD Trustee Maxie Johnson said during Wednesday’s announcement. “Our kids who once thought they couldn’t go to college will be able to earn up to 40 credit hours and transition right into Paul Quinn College or any college of their choice.”
Haynes is a graduate of Bishop College, which was on the Paul Quinn College campus until 1988. He now serves on the board of trustees for Paul Quinn College and other boards dedicated to the advancement of minority communities.
“What I have accomplished in life has everything to do with great teachers. Nelson Mandela was right when he said, ‘Education is the great equalizer,’ and Frederick Douglass was right when he said, ‘Knowledge unfits one for enslavement,’” Haynes said.
“Paul Quinn College has experienced a revival and ushered in a renaissance of HBCU education. I thank God that DISD has partnered with this HBCU and I pray for continued renaissance of education here on the Southside of Dallas.”
Haynes has served the Dallas-Fort Worth communities for nearly four decades in standing up for justice, leading demonstrations, registering thousands of voters and providing ministry, food and other resources to help decrease crime.
He’s also received numerous awards and honors for his ministry and activism. In 2013, he gave remarks at the memorial service of President Nelson Mandela. Most recently in 2020, he was featured during the Democratic National Convention’s Faith Event and was inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.
