There’s So Much Black History Here!
By Pastor D. Allison Moffitt, Jr. – CBT, M.C.Ed.
Guest Columnist
CROCKETT – During Black History Month, The Messenger has teamed up with several community leaders to get their take on different aspects of black history. This column was written by Pastor D. Allison Moffitt, Jr. – CBT, M.C.Ed., Pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Crockett.
Black History Month was created to focus attention on the contributions of African Americans to the United States. It honors all Black people from all periods of U.S. history, from the enslaved people first brought over from Africa in the early 17th century to African Americans living in the United States today.
Today, Black History Month is a time to honor the contributions and legacy of African Americans across U.S. history and society from activists and civil rights pioneers such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Rosa Parks to leaders in industry, politics and science. Our ancestors could only distantly dream of a world where the 44th President would be a black man named Barack Obama. The first in U.S. history.
There has been an incredible amount of time spent in engraving the minds of our generations of the forefathers and foremothers of our culture and while we will never forget their contributions as well as their conquest to make it better for us I have come to discover I would not dare want to serve in a place in any capacity where we mishandle what is actually right in our midst.
As I am blessed to Pastor the oldest historic church in Houston County and amongst one of the oldest fellowshipping churches in Texas, I am both humbled and honored to share my sentiments on the massive amount of Black History that we possess right here in Crockett, Texas.
Our city has so many firsts amongst us, I happen to have the privilege to Pastor, some perished, some past and present Black History historians who are and have made an indelible mark on our great city.
Mr. Elmer Murray – 1st African American Mayor of Crockett, Texas
Mr. Willie Fred Kitchen – 1st African American CISD School Board Member
Ms. Roberta Mason – African American School Teacher
As we reflect over what is present in our midst it is hard to recognize the value of our past without remembering how we got to this moment in time. We must absorb the historical significance of the peaks and valleys our people have survived and integrate the strength that was poured out through innumerable sacrifices into our reality. Pride in our heritage and progress in the world has always been our highest priority so that we can lay hold to forward movement. In so doing, we cannot hide our history.
One of the biggest historical birthing places in this town was Ralph Bunch High School. It gave way to the education of individuals who would lead in our communities and this city. While we may have no physical record of their accomplishments, the things that built character, those things that created culture among the classmates, and cultivated camaraderie for their future still reverberate today.
Along the corridors of time a cool breeze blows and almost dances to the beat of the ancestors drum playing a rhythm that sounds like freedom.
Music, dancing, and singing are intricately woven like beautiful tapestry into the soul of black people to help us carry our burdens. The city of Crockett has a new generation of black people emerging with a conscious mind, they can hear the beat of that ancestral drum, they have accepted the mission. We are still rising. And Black Pride will live on.
