Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
More than 50 people packed into the activity room at the Jefferson Senior Citizens Center (JSCC) on Tuesday, Feb. 21, for a Black History Program that included songs, prayers, readings and an inspirational keynote message about the contributions and legacy of African Americans across U.S. history and society.
President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976, calling upon the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” The recent program at JSCC did just that.
Earnestine Keaton presided over the program, which began with a devotional by Keaton and Deacon Lester Campbell followed by welcoming remarks by Annie McDuffie, the Older Americans Act Coordinator at JSCC.
Francis Miller-Walker presented “Climb to Your Dream Come True,” and then a series of readings were presented by clients and guests of JSCC.
For the first reading, Eather Harrell told about Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919), a businesswoman born in Delta, La., who was orphaned and widowed by the age of 20. Walker worked as a washerwoman and educated herself in her spare time. In 1905, she invented a hair straightening treatment that she sold by mail-order. The business thrived, and within a few years she was one of the first women in America to have become a self-made millionaire. Remembering the poverty of her early life, Walker made large donations to charities and educational institutions, including an academy she founded in West Africa.
Next, Mary McIntosh summarized the extreme difficulties experienced by African slaves involved in plantation life, from long hours in the fields to abuse by cruel overseers to feeling hopeless about ever being freed. Nevertheless, McIntosh read, plantation slaves did have some moments when they could gather for games, dances, church and shared meals.
Campbell then returned to the podium, this time to tell about sports legend Jackie Robinson, known for being the first black player in the major leagues of baseball. Robinson was born in Georgia in 1919 and went on to become a great athlete at UCLA in California and served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945. After World War II, Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League. His skills led him to play next for Montreal, a minor league club of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and in 1947 he was brought to the Brooklyn. Robinson endured jeering, taunting and controversy but went on to be voted major league rookie of the year.
Diane Johnson's reading concerned pioneering NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, a prodigy who graduated from high school at the age of 14, from college at the age of 18, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014 and lived to the age of 101.
Mary Parker then read about Sojourner Truth (born Isabella Baumfree), who became a free woman in 1827 when New York outlawed slavery. Soon after being freed, she had a vision that compelled her to walk throughout Long Island and Connecticut preaching the gospel. She also became active in both the anti-slavery and women's rights movements.
Earnestine Keaton highlighted the accomplishments of Booker T. Washington, a black educator who founded Tuskegee Institute. He believed that blacks could better themselves by becoming self-sufficient, which brought him into direct conflict with some black leaders who believed blacks could only attain equality by political means. Washington won the support of many whites and even became an informal adviser to presidents, but many blacks referred to him as an “Uncle Tom.”
At this midpoint in the program, Martha Lamar led the singing of “I Get Joy,” with audience members joining in and clapping along. Then Lamar introduced the keynote speaker, Rev. Reginald Daniels, who pastors Hickory Hill Missionary Baptist Church. Daniels said he appreciated the opportunity to speak to a packed house, especially on a positive topic. He recognized the elders in the room, acknowledging how they have paved the way for others.
“I know a lot of us in this room may not have made the paper or the history books or the big time Black History list of accomplishments, but you in your own way are heroes. Every one of you are heroes. You are a hero to your family. You are a hero to your church. You are a hero in your neighborhood, and so I applaud each and every one of you for just being who you are and allowing the Lord to use you in your own way. We thank you.”
Daniels encouraged the audience to “look where He has brought us from” and expressed some sadness that in 2023 there are still suppression efforts that have to be confronted. Then he quoted from Psalms 121: 1-2, which says, “I will lift mine eyes unto the hills from which cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord.”
Embracing the message of these words, Daniels said, is empowering.
“The Lord is where our help came from in the past,” he added. “That's where our help comes from now, and that's where our help should come from in the future.”
Holding Harriett Tubman up as an example, Daniels encouraged all to think beyond oneself and to consider how to help others.
“That should be our mentality as well in 2023. We should all have a Harriett Tubman mentality... that even though I'm good to go, I'm not satisfied because there are others who are still struggling.”
Daniels concluded by sharing how he loves to sit at the feet of his elders and hear how things used to be versus how things are now. He encouraged elders to share their wisdom, to continue to let the Lord work in and through them and in doing so to help others see where He had brought them from.
Shorter readings continued after Daniels' message.
Dorothy Jones recognized James Farmer, who founded C.O.R.E., the Congress of Racial Equality, as part of his deep involvement in the struggle to end discrimination through peaceful acts of disobedience. For his life's work, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton in 1998 – the highest award given to a civilian for service to our country.
Evelyn Crumite told about the Harlem Renaissance, an outpouring of black achievements in art, literature, music and theater in the years following World War I.
Barbara Lamar recognized James Meredith as the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi at Oxford, after his court case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
For the second reading, Diane Johnson described the Underground Railroad, which was not an actual railroad but rather a series of routes and safe houses that took runaway slaves to freedom to the north. Railroad terminology was used to refer to slaves as “passengers” or “freight,” and rest stops were called “stations” with “stationmasters.” One of the most famous “conductors” was Harriett Tubman, who helped more than 300 slaves to freedom.
Two individuals named Mary Ann Johnson, each presented readings that honor the legacies of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parks is known for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man in 1955. This action sparked a boycott of the Montgomery, Ala., city buses, which ultimately resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on buses was unconstitutional. She has often been called the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.
Martin Luther King Jr. entered the spotlight during the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955 and soon became the heart and soul of the civil rights movement. He and other black leaders formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, which went on to coordinate many nonviolent civil rights activities during the 1950s and 60s. His leadership resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. At the time of his assassination in 1968, most Jim Crow laws had been struck down, and America's blacks had moved significantly closer to realizing full equality.
Elizabeth Harris shared a famous quote by the author Maya Angelou, which says, “Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”
As the program neared its end, Ola Sylvia Lamar-Sheffield recognized the achievements of
U. S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Ruthie Frazier shared encouraging words from actress Cicely Tyson, and JSCC Board Member Minnie Brookins delivered closing remarks.
For more information about programs and activities at JSCC, contact Older American Act Coordinator Annie McDuffie at (850) 342-0242.
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