Welcome Dr. White!

Expanding & Preserving Our Cultural Heritage, Inc. (EPOCH) is proud to announce the addition of Derrick E. White to its Board of Directors. EPOCH owns and manages the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, 170 NW Fifth Avenue.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Derrick White to our board,” said Board President Vera Farrington. “His research and connections to our area’s public university will be a real benefit to the programs and archive development of the museum.”

White is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Florida Atlantic University.  He is the author of The Challenge of Blackness: The Institute of the Black World and Political Activism in the 1970s. He is a scholar of modern Black history, sports history and intellectual history. He received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 2004, and is co-editor of the forthcoming Civil Rights and the Presidency from Nixon to Obama (2013). White is currently working on Blood, Sweat, and Tears: The Rise and Fall of Florida A. & M. Black College Football Dynasty, which would be the among the first scholarly analysis of Black college football. He has published articles in the Journal of African American History, the C.L.R. James Journal, the Journal of African American Studies and the Florida Historical Quarterly.

Born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, Derrick White earned his Ph.D. in history from The Ohio State University in 2004. He was a dissertation fellow at the University of California-Santa Barbara Black Studies Department and was awarded the inaugural Julian Pleasants Visiting Scholar Grant at the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida. 

A trip through time … for Black History Month

When riders climb aboard the “Ride & Remember” Trolley Tour, Charlene Jones tries to give them an experience they’ve never had before.

“So much of Delray Beach’s history is wrapped up in the personalities,” she said. “Of course, you can see the buildings, the landmarks and the things they left behind, but who they were and what was important to them is not always obvious.”

From the air-conditioned trolley bus, she narrates the history behind the districts that comprise the different areas of the city. For Black History Month, a special emphasis will be placed on the West Settlers’ District, where several descendants of the pioneering families of Delray Beach still reside today.

The West Settlers’ District was home to the bustling, vibrant community of citizens from the Caribbean and Jamaican islands and where the children of African-Americans and Native Americans came to stake their claim in South Florida. From their roots grew educators, entertainers, law enforcement officers, government officials, civil rights leaders, farmers and other professionals who helped mold the racially diverse city.

A descendant of a pioneering family herself, Charlene knows their stories well, and relays them with humor and a personal touch that allows tour riders to connect with people they will never meet. 

“Some of the most interesting and compelling tales come from the neighborhoods that people ride past every day and never think about,” she said. “It’s along these roads and in these communities that history was also made, and we want to share their stories in the most authentic and memorable way possible.”

Celebrate Black History Month on the tour with her; book your seat now: Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 10 a.m.

 

Martin Luther King Inspires $7,000+ in Giving to Spady

Our Annual MLK Breakfast was fantastic and we owe it all to you! Thank you.

A little more than 200 old and new friends came out to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and we think he would have been proud of us. The fundraising event cleared (after expenses) more than $7,000 to support the Spady Museum’s programs.

 

You are so great.

 

Following is an article that appeared in the Sun-Sentinel yesterday, in case you haven’t seen it.

From an early-morning breakfast at the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum to a memorial march, Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations throughout the city were well attended, showing that the message of the civil rights icon continues to resonate with Delray Beach residents.

The Spady Museum’s 13th annual MLK breakfast took place at Delray Beach Golf Club, 2200 Highland Ave. It was attended by 250 people, including city officials, religious leaders and business professionals.

Dr. Art Evans, a sociology professor at Florida Atlantic University, spoke about King’s legacy and how his faith influenced his work.

“One of the things that Dr. King knew was that religion provides a foundation,” Evans said. “Without a foundation, we wouldn’t be here today. And without religion, there would have been no civil rights movement.”

Oratory contest winner Zykra Carter, a student at Village Academy, received a standing ovation for her remarks about King.

“If Dr. King were alive today, I believe that he would be involved in many things,” Carter said. “He would probably be the most important black man in the United States. Dr. King would probably be involved in politics. From my point of view, he would be a leader of his church.

“He would probably be president and help to stop violence and black-on-black killings.”

Spady Museum Director Charlene Jones hosted the event, which took place on the same day that President Obama was inaugurated for his second term.

Vice Mayor Angeleta Gray spoke at the breakfast about social justice.

“Dr. King fought segregation,” Gray said. “He expressed that all life is interrelated. What King was trying to express was that we are all in this life together and that each of us can only reach our full potential if we truly recognize our interdependence on one another.”

Joseph Bernadel, chief executive officer of Toussaint L’Overture High School, 301 SW 14th Ave., spoke about the importance of education.

Later in the day, a crowd of more than 300 people walked in the Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial March from the Delray Beach Community Center to Pompey Park. The participants braved rain and unseasonably hot temperatures as they marched down West Atlantic Avenue escorted by a Delray Beach Police Department motorcycle patrol.