As Black History month draws to a close, I think it would be remiss not to mention the vast depth and width that Americans of African descent have made to the building and positive progress of the American nation.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a marvelous, inspiring speaker. Who in his public pronouncements promoted an idea and ideal that asked all to judge their fellows, not by “the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” He was and remains to this day an inspiring example for tolerance, coexistence, peaceful protest and forgiveness.
I would encourage that the contributions of Dr. George Washington Carver not be forgotten. To dedicate one’s life to science is to invest in the future for all humankind.
Booker T. Washington was a key proponent of African American businesses and one of the founders of the National Negro Business League. His Tuskegee Institute, which became a historically black college in Tuskegee, Alabama, is the solid foundation on which all progress is based. That education is the key to all opportunity, private and public advancement.
Marian Anderson was a gospel singer of universal renown. Through her powerful and wonderous singing voice, the word of God was spread to all people.
Nat “King” Cole, whose easy-going style and smooth voice transcended feelings of racial prejudice and division with his “Unforgettable’ Christmas Song and more.
From the earliest days of the country’s founding to the present the presence of Black Americans has been seen and felt. Whether it was Crispus Attucks, the first to give his life in the cause of American Independence at the Boston Massacre; Hercules Posey, who served Washington at Valley Forge and in Philadelphia; or York, who traveled with Lewis & Clark on the Corps of Discovery Expedition.
The bravery and sacrifice of the United States Colored Troops of the Civil War, the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, the Black American has always been there, present for many, if not most of all the great events, good and bad in American history.
By and large adding in the most significant positive terms to the greatness of our nation. In our own local community, the positive effects, worth and contributions of such members of the community have been felt.
William Wall, of the Rebel Hill section of Upper Merion, served as township supervisor.
Mazie B. Hall, championed the rights of the disenfranchised and marginalized members of her community as an educator and advocate for fairness and justice from her home in our boundary neighborhood of Mt. Pleasant.
Today, as in the past, and throughout all American history the American of African descent continues to enrich and help to refine the gold that is America.
As it says in the song America, the Beautiful:” America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law! America! America! May God thy gold refine. Till all success be nobleness. And every gain divine!”. And so, we celebrate our African American brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends, who through their unending contributions to our American experience help “thy gold refine.”
By Russell Rubert, King of Prussia Historical Society
