Gainesville —
Black History Month was duly observed on a local level through Friday evening’s “Living a Life of the Legacy” program at North Central Texas College (NCTC).
Emcee Robert Adams welcomed guest performers and keynote speaker Erma Johnson Hadley — and explained to the audience that NCTC was the first school in its region to observe the national Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“We’ve got it going on,” he said.
Adams said the “legacy” of the ceremony’s title is a reference to King, whose struggle for human equality continues to provide a strong benchmark.
“We are all the children of God and we are equal, as it says in the Constitution,” Adams said. “If we cut out the lights in here, we’d all be the same color. And we need to start seeing things that way.”
The evening also included music by the Gainesville Men’s Choir and readings from Caitlin Wyckoff and Myrtle Thomas, who discussed the progress of the African-American presence in Gainesville.
Thomas said she came to Gainesville in the early 1970s and observed that many African-American males, after finishing high school, would spend many years in later adulthood “on the block,” dealing drugs and gambling.
“I was determined that I would fight and pray for my son’s life,” she said. “But I fought the block and the block won with some of our boys, our sons.”
But Thomas said she later collaborated with the Rev. Lorrine Ollie and other local activists to improve the image and activities of certain troubled Gainesvile areas, and saw some success.
She added that on an individual basis, education is the key to climbing from any level to the next.
“There is something we must do,” she said. “To get an education. Work together. Helping one another, being on one accord. And love your neighbor as yourself.”
Hadley, chancellor of Tarrant County College District, told the audience that when asked to speak at Black History Month ceremonies, she tends to avoid discussing the merits of legendary civil rights activists such as King, since those are now well-known.
She also said that history is full of heroes of all races who have never received due credit. And all historical heroes, known and unknown, belong to history.
“The thing that matters most, if you are looking to live a life of a legacy, is to do your part,” Hadley said. “To do your part. So what is your part and how do you determine what your part is? Everybody has a role. I’m a firm believer that God has given every creature something special.”
Hadley added that to her view, many people live and die on Earth without ever pinpointing their “specialness,” and a person’s first objective in attaining success should be to figure this out.
And beyond that, success should be expected as a result of extremely hard work rather than luck.
“You’ve got to be focused,” she said. “What is your purpose? What is your goal? What are you trying to do? And when you determine what that is, you figure out how you want to get to where you want to go. And very often and almost always, you’ll find out you need some help from someone else.”
Everyone who has notably succeeded or has become a “legacy,” Hadley said, should be seen as just another person who not only earned it, but had help.
“You will find that there are many other people behind that person, alongside that person, in front of that person, helping,” she said. “Why? Because we are built that way.”
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Members of the Gainesville Men’s Choir took the stage during Friday evening’s “Living a Life of the Legacy” ceremony at North Central Texas College. Staff photo by Greg Russell
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