On March 9th, 24 Rotarians and their guests attended a lunch and tour at the Black Archives of Mid-America. The Archives is located in the Parade Park Maintenance Building at 1722 East 17th Terrace in the 18th & Vine Historic District.
Entertainment Committee Chair Kara Bennett welcomed everyone as they dove into tasty box lunches. Following lunch, President Eric greeted everyone and thanked Kara for organizing the event and Carmaletta Williams, the Black Archives Executive Director, for hosting the group.
Ms. Williams gave a brief overview of the Archives. She told the group that the Black Archives is an educational resource and provides access to its collections for research, exhibition and publication to honor our community heritage and to catalyze public awareness. She then showed a short but powerful video that told the story of an armed mob of white men who in 1897 brutally lynched Erastus Brown, a Black husband and father of two, in Union, Missouri. Mr. Brown was no more than 20 years old at the time of his death.
The meeting ended with the recitation of the Four Way Test. The group then toured the Museum.
