Author: Gianni Franco

Gianni Franco www.giannifranco.com

Welcome to the 3^rd article in the Living Loving Rochester, NY Series

In January 1881, at age 26, George Eastman founded the Eastman Dry Plate Company, which was the precursor to Eastman Kodak, incorporated in 1892. A major investor in the company was Henry A Strong, who came to be the first President of Kodak and a major philanthropist throughout Rochester, NY.

The name, Kodak, was coined by George in 1888. There’s no particular meaning attached to the name. George just liked the sound and look of the letter K. Personally, I would’ve used the name KADAK, because it forms a palindrome, which means it’s the same backwards or forwards. Very odd that George didn’t think about that option.

George gave away one third of his company to his employees in 1919 in the form of stock. He also added an employee benefits program when labor laws and employee wellness didn’t exist. He added Eastman Savings and Loan, ESL, in 1920, to help employees qualify for mortgages.

George was concerned about equality in society and donated his wealth to make certain everyone, no matter race, color, or creed, received a fair opportunity. He donated millions to the Institutes of Hampton and Tuskegee, the University of Rochester, and MIT. He donated funds to help start the first dental clinics for all ages in Rochester, and subsequently oversaw the Eastman Dental Clinics open in Rome, Paris, Stockholm, Brussels, and London.

He and his mother loved music and the arts so much that he opened the Eastman Theater in 1922. He dedicated Kilbourn Hall to the memory of his mother, Maria Kilbourn Eastman, who passed away in 1907. Kilbourn Hall is considered one of the finest chamber music halls in the world. It is part of the world renowned Eastman School of Music, which George founded in 1921.

On March 14, 1932 George Eastman committed suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot to the heart. His suicide note read, “To my friends, my work is done. Why wait?” His funeral was held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Rochester. There has never been a definitive reason as to why he committed suicide, only varied speculation, typical of most suicides.

|Gianni Franco|

https://giannifranco.com/2018/09/20/susan-b-anthony-equality-womensrights-rochesterny-writing-art/

https://giannifranco.com/2018/09/15/frederick-douglass-rochesterny-frederickdouglass-art-writing-equality/

Gianni Franco (www.giannifranco.com)

Welcome to the 2^nd article in the Living Loving Rochester, NY Series

Let’s all think back to when we were 16 and ask ourselves what we were doing at that age? Susan B Anthony’s answer to that question in 1837 would be pretty amazing. She, a rebel with a cause, collected petitions against slavery; even though the US House of Representatives had made it illegal to voice opposition to slavery. Women weren’t even allowed to speak unless spoken to in that era, but Susan B Anthony didn’t care. This was only the beginning for Susan B Anthony, as she became vociferous about many topics, including women’s rights, temperance, labor unions, the Civil War, education, and general freedom.

Susan had important confidants in the mid-1800s. She and Frederick Douglass met around 1848 and became lifelong friends. Frederick Douglass spoke many times at Susan’s farm on the Erie Canal, where Brooks Avenue currently exists. The two orators moved the inequality lines drawn in the sand by a million miles, bringing American freedom to where it is today.

Although, she moved the line in the sand, she would be shocked to learn that almost 200 years later; women and minorities are still fighting for their equal treatment in society. Contact your local and state politicians to have the language in the 14^th amendment ratified to include all humans as equal. Currently, Section II lists male only, which means the equality law is subject to a judge’s interpretation.

In 1851, she met Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Together, they steamrolled the suffrage and temperance movement throughout America and overseas. Susan memorialized Stanton in the NY Times after her 1902 death; stating that Stanton provided the thunderbolts for Susan to fire and light the suffrage movement ablaze. In 1863, they collected 400,000 signatures for a petition to abolish slavery.

In 1868, Elizabeth and Susan became owners and editors for the newspaper, The Revolution, which as the name suggests, revolted against inequality in society.

In 1872, Susan was arrested for voting and fined $100, which she never paid. She would’ve rather rotted in jail, then have given into a law that demeaned women’s rights. Justice Ward Hunt did not imprison her, because if he had, she could’ve taken the case to the Supreme Court on appeal.

Susan B Anthony passed away on March 13, 1906 at the age of 86. She, as well as Frederick Douglass, are buried at the Mount Hope Cemetery.

A personal note to Susan B Anthony; May the knowledge and courage you had seep through the veins of society, and deliver a second awakening for women as well as all minorities and the disparate. Today’s demagogues have led citizens astray and caused the light to dim within the equality tunnel, but I believe in a short time, the light will glow as bright as the statue of liberty torch and illuminate all the streets in the cities and villages across America with promise and equality. The #metoo movement is just the beginning.

|Gianni Franco|

Thank you to www.susanbanthonyhouse.org for some of the information listed above.

Gianni Franco www.giannifranco.com

The first article from the series Living Loving Rochester, NY

   The most photographed individual of the 19^th century was Mr Frederick Douglass (Gregory, 2016). He refused to play into the stereotypes of that era so much so that he refused to smile. The lack of a smile had a two part meaning; there was no reason to show contentment due to slavery, and in those days the media created African caricatures depicting exaggerated wide mouthed smiles. That sentiment was further promoted during his speech on July 5, 1852. In front of an all-female crowd at the Rochester Anti-Slavery Sewing Society he stated, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

     It was no surprise that Douglass orated to women because he had been working with the suffragette movement since 1848. In that year, he attended the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, NY, hosted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Douglass wanted equal rights for all women and Africans. He used his newspaper, The North Star, printed in Rochester, NY from December 3, 1847 until June 1851, to spread the need for equality. The motto was “Right is of no Sex – Truth is of no Color – God is the Father of us all, and we are all brethren.”

    Douglass was a world traveler before planes existed, making frequent trips to Europe and spending most of his time in the United Kingdom and Ireland. They supported his cause for equality and even raised funds to pay for his release from American slavery.

     His quest for equality led him into politics, where he recruited Africans to fight for the Union during the Civil War (1861-1865). 1872 became a big year for Douglass; he was nominated Vice President as Victoria Woodhull’s running mate on the Equal Rights Party ticket; he held New York State’s electoral vote and brought it to Washington, DC; and he left Rochester after his home, located at 999 South Ave (School #12), was burned down by an unknown arsonist. In 1877, he was elected as the US Marshal of DC by President Rutherford B. Hayes.

     He passed away in 1895. Douglass’ coffin was transported back to Rochester, New York, where he had lived for 25 years, longer than anywhere else during his prolific life. He is buried at the Douglass family plot in the Mount Hope Cemetery.

|Gianni Franco|