Events to mark Black History Month, 2003

Events to mark Black History Month
January 9, 2003

CUMBERLAND

“Few are too young, and none are too old, to make the attempt to learn.”

This statement by Booker T. Washington will be the basis for the Black History Month celebrations that are being planned in Allegany County in February. The MLK Faith Based and Community Initiatives, Inc., a collaborative effort of faith and community organizations, have developed some enriching experiences and programs for the citizens of Western Maryland to share and learn about the African American culture. These activities will enable participants to come together, share and learn about the historical perspective of the African American community locally, regionally and nationally.

The National Black History Month theme “The Souls of Black Folk: Centennial Reflections”, is the focus of this year’s local celebration, which will begin Feb. 2 at 4 p.m. with a program at Ebenezer Full Gospel Baptist Church. The program, entitled “Living the History: Our Youth”, has been designed and will be presented by area youth of various ethnic backgrounds.

A reception will be held Feb. 7 at 7 p.m at Rocky Gap Lodge Golf Resort. The reception is being sponsored by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and the UFCW Minority Coalition. The speaker will be Elroy Sailor, who from September 1999 until this month was deputy chief of staff and senior policy advisor to U.S. House of Representatives Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts. A chief of staff and advisor, Sailor was Watts’ liaison to the White House and federal agencies for domestic and foreign policy and political issues. He developed and implemented non-legislative official initiatives, such as the Silicon Valley Digital Divide Tour, U.S. Congressional Faith and Community Based Summit and the U.S. House Majority Historical Black College and University Summit.

In addition, Sailor has led a senior staff delegation to Botswana, received an appointment by the Department of State to serve as an U.S. advisor to the African Development Bank Annual Summit in Ethiopia and directed two official congressional delegations to Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Morocco and Mali, which included over 30 U.S. corporate leaders. Sailor has assumed the post of president of the J.C. Watts Companies, which specialize in government relations, public affairs, communications and domestic and international business development. In his present position, he is responsible for external operations and client development. Sailor’s wife, Angela, who is the deputy director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, and their daughter will be accompanying him while in Allegany County for this occasion.

Tickets for the reception also include a Black History Breakfast and Awards Program Feb. 8 at 9 a.m. at Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort. The event is being sponsored by the Allegany County Branch of the NAACP.

The final presentation for Black History Month will take place Feb. 23 at 4 p.m. at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Cumberland. The theme for this event will be “Living the History: Sharing Our Heritage” and will feature presentations by historians, story-tellers and gospel choirs. For tickets or additional information about the events, call (301) 724-3474.