HILLTOP, WV (WOAY)- February is well known to be black history month, and today was the 7th annual statewide black history program.
This event reminded and commemorated black history month as a whole, specifically for West Virginia. It was a packed crowd at the Hilltop Baptist Center for the event.
There was soul food, music, speeches about various topics, such as history, honoring locals, and a reading of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Reverend Rickey French says it’s important to reflect on the hard work, dedication, and sacrifices that were made before us. He says we are grateful for the position we are in today and that our past gives us encouragement to carry on.
“To me, personally, I think it’s important to celebrate black history here in West Virginia because, in West Virginia, we have a diverse population of 2% less than blacks in West Virginia. So it’s not a lot of us left here in West Virginia,” explained Rev. Rickey French, Pastor at New Beginning United Baptist Church. “But the ones that are here, we got to know that did the fight that went on in West Virginia, we could still carry on and still have a good remembrance of what we need to do as far as bringing us back together and keeping us together and doing the things is right.”
