African-American

Task Force Group

Sponsors Event

By BILL JONES

Staff Writer

About 50 people from throughout Northeast Tennessee took part in the second biennial "Oh Freedom Emancipation Day Celebration" conference held on Saturday in the Christian Life Center of First Baptist Church.

The event was sponsored by the African-American Task Force Coalition of East Tennessee.

The event had opened with a reception Friday evening, then resumed at 8 a.m. Saturday with a "centennial breakfast."

Officials Welcome Group

During Saturday's 9 a.m. opening ceremony, LeRoy Ripley, the event's co-chairman, was joined by Greeneville Mayor Darrell Bryan, Greene County Mayor Alan Broyles, Greene County Sheriff Steve Burns and state Rep. David Hawk, R-5th, of Greeneville. The officials welcomed those attending the conference.

Hawk, who sponsored legislation last year that gave official state recognition to August 8 as "Emancipation Day in Tennessee," told the audience that he was happy to have done so.

August 8 was the day on which Andrew Johnson, while serving as military governor of Tennessee during the Civil War, freed his personal slaves. That day has long been celebrated by the African-American community here, as well as those in other parts of Tennessee, as "Emancipation Day."

Hawk also told the audience on Saturday morning that conversations have begun here recently about developing a local museum dedicated to Emancipation Day and the "reconstruction period" that followed the Civil War.

Eston Williams, coordinator of the Smoky Mountain RC&D Council in Knoxville, master of ceremonies of the Saturday program, introduced Lisa Treece, of Morristown, who presented a one-woman drama entitled "I'm Free."

The high-energy drama, she explained, presented the perspective of a young African-American woman who had just learned that she and other slaves had just been freed.

"Like my momma said, if you ask God long enough and believe on him strong enough, he will hear your call," Treece's character said.

The keynote address was presented by Pastor Sharon L. Bowers, chaplain of Holston United Methodist Home for Children. Bowers also is the founder and chief executive officer of Character Based Leadership, a leadership and personal development firm.

Bowers told the audience that an important thing to remember is that we are all "family," no matter what our race may be.

She told the audience that little is known about when African-Americans first came to Greene County, "but there have been people of color here for a very long time."

Pastor Bowers also led the audience through an exercise in which she asked them to write down the names, ages and races of the five people closest to them and of five friends.

If at least one person on individuals' lists did not look significantly different from them, Bowers said, the list makers should attempt to broaden their circle of friends.

Workshops Presented

Conference attendees were invited to take part in a series of workshops. The workshops, which began about 11 a.m., included those that dealt with:

* the "Willie Lynch Papers," conducted by Pastor Bowers;

* the "Underground Railroad" presented by National Park Service Historian Barbara Tagger;

* "Recreating the Profile," presented by the husband-wife team of Meichelle and Curtis Gibson;

* "A Guide to Discovering the Past," presented by local genealogical researcher Randi Knott; and

* "Race Relations: Exploring Our Baggage," led by Saadia Williams, of Knoxville.

After a lunch prepared by Manna Catering, conference participants were entertained by "Faith," a two-man praise performance group composed of Curtis Anderson and Raymond Justice, of Friendship Baptist Church.

Conference attendees were able to attend other workshop sessions during the afternoon as all five workshops were repeated.

Roundtable Discussion

At about 2:15 p.m., a roundtable discussion featuring the leaders of the workshops was held. Participating in the roundtable discussion were: Barbara Tagger, Meichelle and Curtis Gibson, Sharon Bowers, Randi Knott and Saadia Williams.

During the roundtable discussion, the workshop leaders were asked to address three questions:

* "What are your thoughts on the following statement: America has been and remains the center of one of man's greatest struggles for freedom and equality?

* "How did today's culture of discrimination evolve from the institutionalized policies of yesterday?

* "The cry for justice concerning racism is not just an American problem, but a world problem. So how can people of color today engage and organize a social protest movement now in the 21st century?"

'Emancipation Day'

Following discussion of those three questions, the audience was invited to join a discussion of a fourth question: How can a celebratory revival of the 8th of August Emancipation Day be initiated in Tennessee today, especially among our younger generation?

Curtis Gibson said he thought incorporating more modern music into the celebration would bring younger people to it. He suggested incorporating rap and rhythm and blues music to attract younger participants.

Meichelle Gibson suggested that since younger people love the Internet, using the Internet to communicate information about Emancipation Day Celebration likely would be a good means of attracting a younger audience.

She noted that statistics show that college students spend an average of three and a half hours a day on the Internet.

Tagger said including youth in the planning of Emancipation Day programs also would help involve youth and attract a younger audience.

Bowers said efforts need to be made to convince young people that Emancipation Day is "not just an "old people's" celebration. "It's a celebration for all of us."