Pages

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Black History Month Celebration in Apopka!

On Monday, February 28th, FWAF community members celebrated Black History Month with a program that featured the history of African-Americans in the Apopka area and the lives of the former farmworkers who used to work on the farms on Lake Apopka. 

With artifacts from the past and a display of archival newspapers and magazines collected by a local community member and amateur historian, the program included music and songs by a husband and wife team, poems by local youth, testimony by noted leaders and respected community members, and a skit on the history of South Apopka by a known local activist.
  
The stories told were funny, empowering, reminiscent of years of organizing in the community, and revealing about the realities of racial discrimination in past decades.  Through it all, the resilience and persistence and strength of the community was the unifying theme.
 
The Memorial Quilts were on display and the evening ended with everyone sharing a delicious meal prepared by a local woman leader and former farmworker.  The rich history of the African-American community was a take-home message for all who attended.

No comments:

Post a Comment