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Celebration makes learning fun
Eating, dancing and storytelling are just some of the entertaining ways folks will be learning about African-American culture during the Florida African-American Heritage Celebration on Saturday.
By EILEEN SCHULTE
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 21, 2002
[Times photo: Brendan Fitterer 2001]
Jared Brunson, center, of the Imani Dancers, sends a symbolic glance skyward during a traditional African dance performance at last year’s celebration.
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Portable classrooms? People tend to hate them.
At times, the ugly buildings have provoked heated discussions between parents and school officials. The demand? Get rid of them.
So who would have thought that on Saturday, people will line up to tour a portable classroom at the third annual Florida African-American Heritage Celebration.
But this one is special and worth a look. The portable is the old Union Academy classroom building rescued from demolition (it actually had the word "demo" spray-painted in neon on one side when it was "discovered") and thought to be the oldest portable classroom in the state.
It was moved to the Heritage Village historic park two years ago and has been restored to its 1940s glory (except that now it has air conditioning). The building, which first accommodated students at an all-white school and then was handed down to an all-black school, will have its grand opening during the celebration Saturday.
But the classroom's dedication and tours are just one aspect of the event, designed to take visitors back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
What was it like to be black in early Florida? Who were the black pioneers who settled here in the early 20th century? What were their lives like before desegregation?
That is what this free event seeks to teach through live music, dance, storytelling, demonstrations and traditional cultural foods.
"(Organizers) call it a celebration, not a festival, because it's a celebration of heritage and culture," said Wendy Wesley, event coordinator. "It really is about education."
The young celebration has grown steadily. Last year, organizers expected a crowd of 4,000. They got 8,000.
This year, they are bracing for 12,000 visitors who will listen to stories about Buffalo Soldiers, meet a Highwaymen artist, shake hands with NASA's first black astronaut, sway to jazz, blues, reggae, African drumming and Caribbean music while noshing on fried fish and chicken.
And there will be an expanded children's activity area where kids can get their hair braided, learn to play steel drums and make African bead jewelry.
The entertainment is fine and good, but Sandra Rooks, historian for the proposed African-American Museum, does not want people to lose sight of why the event was organized in the first place: to compile artifacts and photos of early African-Americans in an effort to create a collection for the museum.
On Saturday, she will be collecting more photos, so bring them if you have them.
"We don't have to go too far to find heroes," Rooks said. "Some of them are from our own back yard."
PREVIEW
Florida African-American Heritage Celebration, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Pinewood Cultural Park, 12211 Walsingham Road, Largo. Admission and parking are free. (727) 532-1698.
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