Reception kicks off weekend of cultural history

VISALIA — Several dignitaries from around the county gathered in front of the Tulare County library Friday evening to warm up for a weekend-long celebration of a historical landmark’s 100 birthday.

County supervisors and guest speakers invited the public to share in a discussion about Allensworth, the first colony to be established by black Americans.

The colony, now one of 50 state parks, promises to be filled with visitors today and Sunday for its centennial celebration, Victor Carter said. The event will feature a host of speakers, including descendents of some of the colony’s first residents and founders, as well as activities for children, food and tours of more 22 restored buildings.

Carter is president of Friends of Allensworth, an organization that hosts five events each year highlighting the achievements of black Americans.

This weekend’s event will be the biggest the colony has seen so far.

Lonnie Bunch, founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, traveled from Washington, D.C. to speak at Friday’s reception and take part in the weekend celebration.

The history of Allensworth, he said, is important to him both personally and professionally.

“This is an important story that deserves to be remembered by all Americans and I want to help give it the visibility it deserves,” he said.

“Allensworth is a wonderful lens to look at America [through]. It’s a story of discrimination; it’s a story of promise. And not only that, but of dreams, hard work and resilience. It’s the quintessential story of America.”

The colony was founded by Col. Allen Allensworth in 1908 during a time of racial segregation under the Jim Crow laws.

The town was uprooted from a belief that education was primarily important to the black American community’s prospect of rising above their situation.

Because racial discrimination was strong in that day, “this was not a time to believe,” Bunch said. “And yet, the colony was made of believers. By their own exertion, by their own creativity, they made a way” to establish themselves.

“The ordinary things we take for granted were extraordinary at that time: the ability to raise a crop, to raise children, to build schools and to build businesses,” Bunch said.

Schools were a chief asset to the town and allowed it to thrive, he said.

The first branch of the Tulare County libraries was established in Allensworth a few years after it was founded.

Smith Anderson, curator of the Allensworth exhibits, was one of the speakers who took the podium facing a small crowd in front of the library.

“I don’t think that the whole story of Allensworth can be told until we talk about the importance of Tulare County to Allensworth and the importance of Allensworth to Tulare County,” Anderson said. “They depended on each other. [The founders of Allensworth] had to go through the county and the county was very proud of the library.”

Several other dignitaries were in attendance, including Alice Calbert Royal, a descendant of Allensworth and author of “Allensworth, the

Freedom Colony.” After the reception, guests headed inside the library where Royal sold her books, talked with them and gave a free book signing.

She, and many others, were scheduled to give speeches at the centennial celebration today.

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