FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH
There are six area events celebrating Black History month.
Carson Newman University students, with support from African American Heritage Alliance, has put together an exhibit in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The exhibit opens January 31st at 3:30pm and extends through the end of the term.
From Africa to Appalachia Foundation (FATA) and the Rose Center are sponsoring a month-long exhibit of the work of artist, Sammie Nicely. The exhibit opens on February 7th at 2:00pm at the Rose Center.
Blues musician, Wallace Coleman, will be appearing at The Bunk House in Bulls Gap, Tennessee on Friday, February 12th. He will appear in a Valentine’s Day Concert at the Rose Center on Saturday, February 13th.
For detailed information about these four events, click here Four Events-Feb 2016
In addition, ARTE Gallery and Studio, 207 Arnold Avenue (on the corner of E. Morris Blvd. and Arnold) is offering an exhibit: “Hallowed Ground: Sites of African American Memories.” The exhibit will be open February 1 – 28. Call 423-839-2516 for more information.
Lastly, Walters State Community College will offer three performances of the play, “Oh, Freedom: The Story of the Underground Railroad.” The play was written by Peter Manos and is being performed by the WORD Players from Knoxville. Performances are February 18 @ 4:30 at the Claiborne County Campus and at 10am on February 22 at the Sevier County Campus. The performance at the Morristown Campus is at the Student Service Building on February 25 at 2:30pm. Admission is free.
Iglesia Bautista La Gran Comision, 1021 South Cumberland St., Morristown, TN 37813, is devoting itself to community service in remembering the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
On Monday, January 18, 2016, the congregation’s pastor, the Rev. Alfonso Jerezano, will be leading church members and others who wish to help in projects serving four local organizations. Pastor Jerezano is organizing three separate groups and sending them forth.
9:30 – 12N Service to CEASE
12:30pm-3:00pm God’s Warehouse
12:30pm-3:00pm Boys and Girls Clubs
A fourth group will devote the day to service at the church.
Pastor Jerezano welcomes both English and Spanish speaking volunteers.
If you would like to join this effort, please call Pastor Jerezano at (423)748-7324
Beginning in the last century, the Congress or a President of the United States has designated certain months of the year in recognition of the heritage and/or contributions of different segments of our society.
Those designations are listed in simple form below. For a more detailed description of the history of the designation, click here: National Heritage Months
February is Black History Month
March is National Women’s History Month
May is Asian/Pacific-American Heritage Month as well as Older Americans Month and Jewish American Heritage Month.
June is Gay and Lesbian Pride Month
September is National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15)
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month and National Italian-American Heritage Month
November is National American Indian Heritage Month
December includes International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Welcome
Very simply, we are a volunteer organization that seeks to build unity within our community through activities, projects, partnerships and collaborations which lift up and celebrate diversity, inclusion and appreciation, and respect for our differences.
We welcome your interest and invite you to contact us if you would like to join our efforts.
The organization was established in 2008 by then city mayor, Barbara “Sami” Barile as the Mayor’s Task Force on Diversity. In 2010 we became part of the Rose Center family of organizations and changed our name to Morristown Task Force on Diversity. We are now a 501(c )(3) Public foundation.
Although we are not operated by city government, we continue to maintain significant connection with that entity and see our work within the context of building awareness and relationships within our community as public service and commitment to justice. We believe this is best done by celebrating the gifts that the diversity of our population provides.
Opening ourselves to learn about others and be able to celebrate differences is especially important for our population and history.
Our Mission:
To acknowledge and celebrate the diversity of our community and to promote acceptance and understanding among its residents.
Our Vision:
To make Morristown a city where all individuals are equally valued solely “by the content of their character,” and are welcomed and celebrated for the uniqueness they contribute to the community.
Our Slogan:
Promoting unity within the community
Diversity In Morristown
The ethnic basis of Morristown, the county seat of Hamblen County, is that 80% of our population traces its heritage to Europe, primarily Scotland, Ireland and England. 16% of our population is Spanish-speaking with origins in the Southern Hemisphere. 4% of the population counts its heritage as primarily African-American.
Interestingly, one hundred forty years ago, Hamblen County had a significant number of free, black landowners. And, our community remembers with both nostalgia and some pride, those years when Morristown College, a historic and important black college, was vibrant and active. The college was founded in 1881 by the national Freedman’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The school was renamed Knoxville College-Morristown in 1989 and closed in 1994.
A cooperative plan by the city and developers is in the works to convert Judson’s Hill, the old Morristown College campus, into a combined use area for different kinds of housing, shops and a community center. The plan is to find ways of preserving and incorporating the heritage of Morristown College into the plan.
All of this is to say that relationships between all people of color and white residents in Hamblen County have been complex. Black residents of Morristown knew and experienced the same prejudice and denial of civil rights that is part of our nation’s history. At the same time, planted in this region, was both a lifestyle and an institution that created opportunity and trained its students for success and position in the larger society. It was, quite literally, a light shining from a hill – Judson’s Hill.
The rapid growth of the Spanish-speaking population in Hamblen County has brought some of the same incorporation issues that can be found in other parts of the country. Likewise, our community is enriched and broadened in learning about the different cultural features of one another.
The economic bases of our community until the late 1940’s were twofold. They were farming (especially tobacco growing) and small, family-owned businesses. Light industrial manufacturing began to arrive after WWII.
The greatest growth happened in the 1970’s and 1980’s as international businesses began establishing manufacturing plants here. Now, seventeen different countries are represented in our industrial base. When one goes to the grocery store, one hears different languages and sees products from around the world. Our health system is populated by professionals who come from around the world.
With such a significant portion of our population having roots outside our community, it would be easy to assume that there are few issues of inclusion in our community. But as elsewhere, there are faces and voices that are not heard often in governance, leadership or decision making. As elsewhere, there are some who can celebrate the differences in people and others who cannot.
We believe that recognizing the culture and differences of our people creates a mechanism for greater understanding and appreciation. Finding ways to gather and learn about others lowers the level of fear and suspicion and adds both depth and breadth to our community.
Sometimes, confrontation about issues related to intolerance is essential. However, we believe that in the longer term, celebrating our gifts, our histories, our experiences and our cultures opens pathways to long-lasting cooperation and the kind of deep respect that benefit all.
So…this Task Force is composed of a group of people who see building relationships, cultural awareness and diversity as adding value and strength to our community. We are a stronger, fairer, more cooperative and healthier community when we can work and play and learn together.