In Recognition

In Recognition of National Poetry Month, it is only fitting that we and express our thanks and recognize James and Janie W ashington. During their working years, they gave thought and pen to the future of creativity and their wishes to continue their encouragement long after their waking and working days. They both died in 2000.

This month, the Dr. James W . W ashington Jr and Mrs. Janie Rogella W ashington Foundation (The W ashington Foundation) gives special thanks to James and Janie as we recognize selected poets, artists and Lake Union Partners LLC for their successful efforts in restoration of the Fountain of Triumph by Sabah al-dhaher, and the commissioning of Barry Johnson to render a six foot bronze of Dr. W ashington, and Juan Alasco Rodriguez for his Holly Hocks adorning one wall at Mid Town Square. Dr. W ashington has holly hocks in their garden. These artistic renderings lend signature to 24th & Union, Mid Town Square, adding “Touch” to his community fame and national recognition. This “Touch” has added to this visionary’s inclusion into the prestigious Artists Homes’ and Studios, a program of the National Historic Trust for Historic Preservation.

The W ashington Foundation recognizes and expressly thanks James and Janie W ashington for their hindsight, insight, and foresight in establishing in 1997, the Dr. James W . W ashington Jr & Mrs. Janie Rogella W ashington Foundation. The express purpose of their creativity and thoughtfulness is extracted in part from their Last W ill and Testament and delineated here:

The mandated purpose is To preserve the art, writing, and lifetime works of Dr. James W. Washington Jr. and share their vision through the preservation, interpretation and showing of his works and studio, and the family’s gardens and home. Also, to encourage others by providing a setting where they can grow beyond the book, spiritually and artistically and to share their talents with a larger audience. It is to be a site where community and creativity come together and support each other.

The Board is charged in part, with the responsibility of being ever mindful of and inclusive of these (their) Imperatives in what was entrusted to them by James and Janie; the caring for of their life and legacy.

1. W e leave you a thirst for education and scholarship

2. We leave you a mandate to encourage others to explore their creativity.

3. W e leave you an obligation to engage young people in activities that will inspire and influence them to use their creativity in positive and productive ways. 4. W e leave you a commitment for documentation, critical analysis, and preservation. 5. W e leave you a responsibility to collaborate with other community and church organizations. 6. W e leave you a respect for cultural and ethnic diversity, especially for outreach and inclusion. 7. W e leave you a faith in church and family. 8. W e leave you confidence in leadership and concern for the business of this Foundation. 9. W e leave you the authority to maintain the Dr. James W . W ashington, Jr. and Janie Rogella W ashington Foundation and the African American Museum & Cultural Center.