Black contributions recognized
Sunday’s Black History Month Extravaganza provided a look back and a path forward.
The program was held before a near-capacity crowd at Kewanee’s First Congregational Church and included city leaders, 74th Dist. Rep. Dan Swanson, a representative of U.S. Congresswoman Cheri Bustos and the choirs of Kewanee and Wethersfield high schools.
“It’s not just something for black people, but for all of America,” said the Rev. Marshall Jones of the annual month of commemoration, which was started by Carter G. Woodson Association of the Study of Negro Life and History in 1926 and formalized by President Gerald Ford in 1976. February was selected because both Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln were born that month.
Jones spoke of the “great gains” made by African American people since emancipation ...