Dallas school district to name school after megachurch pastor Frederick Douglass Haynes III
A new secondary school set to open in the fall of 2021 on the campus of Paul Quinn College, a private, faith-based, historically black liberal arts-inspired institution, will be named after the Rev. Frederick Douglass Haynes III, senior pastor of the 12,000-member Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas.
Officials from the Dallas Independent School District made the announcement Wednesday.
“It is a great day in Dallas ISD,” Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said during a press conference. “We are currently recruiting students to come to southern Dallas to be part of this magic at Paul Quinn, an HBCU.”
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The school will be the district's first such partnership on the campus of a historically black college or university and will serve grades 6-12. Students will also be taught the international baccalaureate program, which offers a continuum of international education and encourages both personal and academic achievement.
"Educational inequity leads to poverty and poverty leads to violence. What you're witnessing today is the school board addressing the inequities in southern Dallas," Dallas ISD Trustee Maxie Johnson said during the announcement.
"Our kids that 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 a college of their choice. When you look at the work of Pastor Haynes and all that he is doing not just in the city of Dallas but the nation, he is deserving of this honor. As a young pastor in this city, I am honored and elated to be able to speak with our community and work with our constituents and have full agreement that Pastor Haynes’ name be placed on the international baccalaureate school at the HBCU. This has never been done in the city of Dallas so I’m excited that I was able to be a part of this great moment,” he added.
Haynes, 60, is a longtime leader in the Dallas community and member of the board of trustees at Paul Quinn College. In addition to his work with private and public sector stakeholders to reduce domestic violence and poverty, he has also used donations from Friendship-West to fund historically black colleges and universities with over $1 million. More than $2 million worth of scholarships have also been given to HBCU students.
"This means so much to me because I am a graduate of Bishop College, which was on this campus until 1988," Haynes said following the announcement. "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.' 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, who has received numerous awards and honors for his ministry and activism, was named by Ebony Magazine in 2012 among their Power 100 list of most influential African Americans. He was also inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame.
