Black History event aims to celebrate national and local figures

Dozens gathered Sunday to celebrate Black History Month at St. James AME Church in Cape Girardeau, which included a move to commemorate prominent black Cape Girardeau residents.

The church, which has roughly a 150-year history in Cape Girardeau, was decorated inside images of famous black figures, ranging from major-league baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson to diplomat Ralph Bunche to actress Whoopi Goldberg.

The event began with the singing of "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory" and an introduction by church leader Debra Mitchell-Braxton. Church member Geneva Allen Patterson offered a message of hope through reading a passage of Scripture she said had a profound effect on her.

She said it illustrated the importance of overcoming fear, such as the fear of water she acquired as a child after the drowning death of a friend.

"But last week, for the first time, I took my first swimming lesson," she said, to applause.

Members of the True Vine Ministries youth group, from left, Mykesia Maxwell, Byron Bonner III, Tamekas Bonner, Zyianna Boens and Trevion Bonner sing "Inside Out" during the Black History Month Extravaganza event Sunday at St. James AME Church in Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

The youth gospel choir performed several hymns, and three parishioners offered poetic tributes to poets Maya Angelou and Missouri native Langston Hughes.

Mitchell-Braxton said in appreciating the past, there is a guide to future action.

"We have work to do in this community," she said.

She told the crowd there are no streets or buildings or other monuments in Cape Girardeau named after black community leaders, and she intends to lobby for that to change.

"I'm not afraid to speak up," she said. "I might not be the most popular person around, but it doesn't pay to be popular."

Youth of St. James AME Church sing during the Black History Month Extravaganza event Sunday at the church in Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

She suggested Dr. Edward Spicer, who served as Southeast Missouri State University's first affirmative-action officer from 1977 to 1991, would be an excellent candidate.

"I don't care if there's only three people assembled here," she said. "We're not going to forget about Black History Month."

Church member Ramona Bailey said she agrees black history is important to pass on to future generations.

"I'm a parent and a member here, and having children and being a person of color myself has made me realize that they don't teach [black history] in school. There's a need for it, and I'm glad that [St. James AME] is teaching it," she said.

She said too often, black identity is clouded in negative media portrayals, but it doesn't have to be that way.

"We want to keep the positives alive," she said. "We want to tell our children that you don't have to fall into that line of what some people have done."

Church member Leslie Washington said of all the prominent black figures discussed, she still holds one person in higher regard: her mother.

"She was always there for me when I was growing up," she said. "I could come to her with whatever I needed to, and probably after her, then there was this church and God."

tgraef@semissourian.com

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