LeMoyne Community Center hosts black history program
Nashaia McElvy, 11, of Washington gives Gregory Spencer of Pittsburgh a tour of artwork displayed at the LeMoyne Multicultural Community Center as part of the center’s Black History Month program Tuesday.
Children displayed their artwork and poetry about prominent black figures in America during the Black History Month program at the LeMoyne Multicultural Community Center.
Joyce Ellis, executive director of the LeMoyne Multicultural Community Center, believes regardless of race, age or socioeconomic background, people want the same thing.
“The common denominator is that we all want to get along,” said Ellis. “I wanted to have an event where everyone got to hear what other people are thinking.”
Ellis organized a Black History Month event at the East Washington center on Tuesday that included a panel discussion on what it’s like to live in America.
Ellis said the purpose of the event was to gain insight into the perspectives of those of different ages and races.
She assembled a panel of participants to answer five questions, including what they feel successful at doing, how they view themselves and how others view them and how they feel when a police officer pulls them over.
“My eyes were just opened,” said Ellis following the more than hour-long discussion. “I wanted everyone to hear what other people were thinking regardless of ethnicity and age. We all trust in God and we want to be safe and we sometimes fear what other people think about us.”
Among more than a dozen panelists were Pastor Myron Jones of the Apostolic Christian Temple of Washington and Rev. Dr. L. Stephen Smith Jr. of First Presbyterian Church, civil rights activist and former NAACP Washington Branch president Dean Ellis, Washington Mayor Brenda Davis and teens from the LeMoyne Center.
Dean Ellis said he felt the most important question of the night addressed racial profiling, in which blacks are pulled over while driving.
“I adopt a submissive posture because I recognize the police officer who stopped me is the authority at that time,” said Ellis.
Former Washington resident David Wade, of Columbus, Ohio, said, “Even if I’m calm, I’m excruciatingly aware of the fact that they have a gun and I do not.”
Said First Presbyterian Church’s Smith, “I get nervous because I don’t know what kind of police officer it will be. Some are friendlier than others. But I will tell you I don’t feel as nervous as some of my black friends tell me they feel when they get pulled over.”
Nettie Johnson earned a standing ovation for her response when asked her how people view her and how she views herself.
“In my 71 years, the world has tried to identify who I am and what I am. I started in school as colored. I went into the Air Force as a Negro. I came out of the Air Force and they dressed it up a bit and called me Negroid. I started work at the welfare office as black and retired 35 years later as an African-American,” said Johnson. “Well, I can tell you who I am. I can tell you when I walk into the room I’m black and I’m a woman, but what’s inside of that box is what’s important. I’d like to say I try to be a woman of integrity and I try to be a woman of strong character … I fall short sometimes because I’m still human. But I see myself as a mother, a wife and a mentor. I see myself as a Bible school teacher. There’s a lot to me besides just being a black woman.”
Smith said that forums like the Community Open House help keep dialogue open between community members and can lead to better relationships.
“Maybe one of the reasons we haven’t had riots here is because people talk with each other like this,” he said.
The evening also featured readings by Teen Outreach Black History Month essay winners Serena Green and Zhiere Patmon, and a performance by Washington’s Got Talent winner Brianna King, who sang “Amazing Grace.”
Also on display was art from Wash Arts, the LeMoyne Center youth and the NAACP, and newspaper clippings and photos depicting the battle for civil rights in America and in Washington.