A Historic Encounter
By Norm Baxter

Gloria Jackson (left), great-granddaughter of Booker T. Washington, recently got acquainted with Lynne Jackson, great-great granddaughter of Missouri slave Dred Scott. The two descendants of the two famous Americans met for the first time in St. Louis at a recent preview dinner held on January 26th for the upcoming motion picture, Amazing Grace, which opened nationwide February 23rd. The St. Louis based educational organization The Constitutional Coalition sponsored the preview dinner.

Though they share the same last name, the women are not related. Gloria, Los Angeles attorney and founder of the Booker T. Washington Inspirational Network, has authored a book about her brilliant great grandfather entitled Timeless Treasures. Lynne is general services manger for Bryan Cave, LLP, a law firm in St. Louis where Scott was living when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that he was personal property, not a citizen of this nation and not entitled to sue for freedom in federal court. Lynne is the founder of the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation and coordinator for the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Dred Scott Decision March 6, 1857.
Also present was Ken Wales, producer of the film that depicts the long battle by reformer William Wilberforce to end slavery in Great Britain. Wales, producer of many well-known movies such as The Great Race and The Pink Panther series, shared stories of the filming of Amazing Grace and Wilberforce’s long undertaking to rid his country of slavery.