Art credit above: Maria Friske Mural Titled Always Know Your Neighbor

Rose O'Keefe

While Rose O'Keefe grew up mostly outside of New York City, living in France for four years as a girl showed her that other countries see life differently. As the daughter of an English immigrant and the D-I-L of a Lebanese immigrant, she has seen different cultures firsthand. When Rose graduated from SUNY Potsdam, she moved to Rochester, New York, in the beautiful Finger Lakes area. Rose is the author of history books that promote the contributions to human rights of the entire family of Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass. She see herself as a neighborly historian who sees history through the eyes of families. 

Researching this area’s history is like diving into a bottomless well full of rocks and rainbows. Some of the history is very painful, and some of it is truly inspiring. I think it’s important that people who may have been rivals or enemies in the past learn to get along in the present. I definitely believe in “United We Stand.

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