Black History program examine “Where do we go from here”

Cynthia Bond Hopson

 “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?” This question from Dr. Martin Luther King’s 1967 book of the same title will be the theme for the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center’s Black History Month program, Saturday, February 7, at 2 p.m.  Noted author, Haywood County native and cultural historian, Cynthia Bond Hopson, will speak and facilitate a panel of local leaders.

Panelists will include Haywood County’s first elected African American Sheriff, Melvin Bond; Brownsville’s first African American Mayor W. D. Rawls Jr.; Fred Silverstein Jr., Chair of the Human Rights Commission; Douglass Community organizer and educator Johnetta Walker Neal; Brownsville Alderman and former housing administrator Carolyn B. Flagg; County Mayor Franklin Smith; and activist and business owner, Cynthia Rawls Bond. 

“This chaos or community topic was Dr. King’s examination of American race relations and the movement after a decade of U.S. civil rights struggles. It offers a perfect opportunity to reflect, renew and recommit to building bridges of love and hope,” says Bond Hopson, whose books on Haywood County include The Women of Haywood: Their Lives, Our Legacy, Wiggle Tales and Times of Challenge and Controversy.

According to Bond Hopson, “When Dr. King wrote ‘somewhere somebody must have some sense. People must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a descending spiral, ultimately ending in destruction for all and everybody. Somebody must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe. And you do that by love,’ he wanted us to understand we have the power to change the world through lives of service and deliberate action. Our distinguished panelists have done just that.”

Following the program, Bond Hopson will sign copies of her books.  This is a free event. 

Center donates books to local libraries

In honor of Black History Month, the Advisory Board of the Delta Heritage Center has donated two Blues books by music historian Dr. David Evans to the Haywood High School library. The books, Ramblin' On My Mind and Big Road Blues give new perspectives on the Blues culture and the old traditions and include mentions of Brownsville Bluesmen "Sleepy" John Estes, Hammie Nixon and Yank Rachel. Librarian Julie Dahlhauser attended the Center's Advisory Board meeting February 13, to accept the donation. Pictured in front of the Blues mural of the Music Museum are (from left) Carolyn Flagg, Joey Conner, Becky Booth, Dahlhauser, Jerry Wilson and Sonia Outlaw-Clark. Not pictured is Sandra Silverstein.

Librarian Katherine Horn of the Elm Ross Public Library recently accepted the donation of four books from the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center. In honor of Black History Month, the Center donated books that document influential Black people in our community. Among the books are Women of Haywood by Dr. Cynthia Bond Hopson; I, Tina by Kurt Loder; and Ramblin' On My Mind and Big Road Blues by Dr. David Evans. Pictured are (from left) Center Director Sonia Outlaw-Clark, Center Advisory Board members Carolyn Flagg, Becky Booth and Horn.