Echoes of history in meeting

For months Virginia Proctor held out hope she’d meet the woman related to her grandfather’s friend, educator and author Booker T. Washington.

Now she sat talking recently with her over lunch.

Proctor, 90, of Atlanta stumbled upon Nettie Washington Douglass back in June in this newspaper. A profile of the 66-year-old City of Atlanta employee revealed she was not only Washington’s great-granddaughter but the great-great-granddaughter of abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass.

Proctor could hardly believe her eyes.

For years she held onto a short note and dagger the Washingtons sent to her grandfather in 1909.

“I’m sending you this souvenir from the West Coast of Africa,” the note read. “Very truly yours, Mrs. B.T. Washington.”

For most of her life, Proctor said, that one little memento from her father had been a reminder of what was possible.

Thomas Fletcher Proctor and Washington had become good friends during a time when friendships between black and white were frowned upon.

“I was always proud of the fact there was a friendship there,” said Proctor.

Proctor immediately called the newspaper. She had to speak to Douglass.

Weeks passed, then months, before she could reach Douglass.

Now here they sat talking over grilled chicken, sweet potatoes and sweet tea.

“How much family do you have?” Proctor asked.

“I’m an only child,” said Douglass, “but I have three children and four grandchildren.”

“Did I read your nickname is Honey?”

The conversation flowed naturally as if between best friends as they finished plates of lemon pie and headed to Proctor’s second-floor apartment.

There Proctor took the dagger and the letter she kept in an 8-by-10-inch frame from her bedroom closet and launched into yet another story about growing up in the segregated South and often standing alone on race issues.

There had been many times, particularly during the turbulent 1960s, when she thought America would never change. The letter, a symbol of her grandfather’s friendship with Washington, reminded her that change was possible.

“I loved hearing those stories,” Douglass said.

She gave her host a cherub and thanked her for her hospitality.

They exchanged telephone numbers and promised to stay in touch.

“I was delighted to meet her,” Proctor would say later. “I feel greatly blessed for having had the opportunity.”

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