Why We Choose to Celebrate and Perpetuate It

In times of great change, having a symbol such as Stevens reminds us of our roots, of those who came before us. It serves to strengthen our resolve for difficult tasks and our will and determination not just to endure but to prevail. It reminds us of the strength we have to draw upon, the duties we gladly undertake and the gifts we pass along to others.

The Associated Press reported that “first lady Michelle Obama hosted nearly 200 schoolchildren for a Black History Month celebration February 18 and seemed a bit surprised when the sixth- and seventh-graders from three local schools said yes, they knew slaves helped build the White House, that President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation upstairs in a bedroom named for him, and that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders met in the building with Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson to discuss the end of segregation.”

Even more surprising to Mrs. Obama might be that, just blocks from her temporary FB/WE home, is an equally and elegantly significant threefold history. And that is of staunch abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens, and his namesake Stevens School founded to educate freed slaves, and the numbers of Stevens graduates whose professional contributions have multiplied benefits to the community, our nation, and the world.

This year as we celebrate Black History Month with Lincoln’s 200th birthday, we are paying special notice to our own neighborhood hero, Pennsylvania Representative Thaddeus Stevens. Stevens pressed Lincoln for the abolition of slavery and insisted that freed blacks be given the tools, through education, to preserve and prevail as free men. Stevens understood they had to be twice as good, and had four times the obstacles to proving themselves. We also celebrate the graduates of Stevens School – each a pillar of the community and uniquely representative of the teachings and traditions that Stevens conveyed.

In this profoundly unique Black History Month, it will be the symbols such as the will of Rep Thaddeus Stevens, the education of Stevens School, and the will and contributions of its graduates that remind us that no matter how hard things get, we Americans can overcome obstacles and prevail. FBA/ ANC and the community come together to celebrate and perpetuate this history: legacy with the aspiration of youth and community training, programs in keeping with the ideals that Stevens fostered, and honoring and dignifying the history with community involvement.

Mrs. Obama’s reported words neatly paralleled our own regarding Stevens (FBN Feb.13, 2008. “Stevens School: The Intersection Between Black History and a World Class Education”) encouraging her young audience “to look beyond the names in the history books and to think about the extraordinary people who live in your own world, like parents, grandparents and teachers, all those folks who play important roles in black history and American history every single day.” We hope to share our grand and special FB/WE legacy of Black History with our new neighbors in this auspicious year of American History.

For more information go to HISTORIC STEVENS COALITION