NACOGDOCHES, TX (KTRE) -
This afternoon, members of the Nacogdoches community
recognized black history month and celebrated African American heritage and
culture.
"It's not just a black history program it's a program for
our community," said Charlotte Stokes, President, Progressive Leadership Group
The 3rd annual program honored past African American
leaders while educating people on various parts of the culture.
"Nacogdoches didn't know
enough about the roots of its African American history and it hadn't been
highlighted enough this is a way for us to bring it to the fore front and for
the community to get together and promote a sense of unity," said History
Professor Scott Sosebee.
Unity starts by learning the history and the program offered
its attendees a way to do it. The program included genealogy, Kwanzaa and
quilting exhibits, and a skit depicting the struggles of slavery.
Event coordinator Charlotte Stokes says the past is our
roadmap to a better future.
"The future rests on
the shoulders of the past. We want them leaving here knowing there are a lot of
people in their lives prior to today and they to celebrate the lives of their ancestors,"
said Stokes.
Nacogdoches Mayor Roger Van Horn agrees, when people
understand each other it has a positive impact on the community.
"More time we spend
together the more we find out about what we have in common and how we work together
and the better our city is," Van Horn.
"Communities get
their identity from awareness and from unity, if we're not together and we don't
know about the past sometimes we don't know where to go," said Sosebee.
And they say if we don't learn from history we are doomed to
repeat it.
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