Black History Month

by Gerald Apple

February was chosen as Black History Month because the second week of this month coincides with the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas. 

In the summers of 1970 through 1973, I worked on my Master’s degree at Western Washington University in Bellingham.  My major emphasis was on Black History.  I learned about Dr. Martin Luther King and read many of his inspiring speeches.  He became one of my role models.  I had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta, Georgia and visit the Ebenezar Baptist Church he had been a Reverend at.  I did NOT realize how much the history of prejudice played against the African Americans and how poorly they were treated. 

However, learning about Dr. King taught me that is very important to spread love and treat everyone with kindness.  This inspired me that it  is very important to spread love because when I was growing up I was a pretty happy kid.  Now that I am a senior citizen, I can see that society needs so much improvement when it comes to treating all our citizens equally.

Thia is why I enjoy being a member of St Bendict’s Episcopal church because of their outreach/social justice programs and the value of giving.  I had the opportunity several years ago to speak in front of a thousand students at Shelton High School about Black History month and the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. It was a very happy and memorable experience for me.