Black History Month – Educating for the Future

gmcdaniel4444@gmail.com

7 years ago

Montgomery County Council Commemorates Black History Month

Rockville, Maryland – February 2018

On February 27, 2018, the Montgomery County Council commemorated Black History Month with the theme “Preserving the Past and Educating for the Future.”

L-R: George W. McDaniel, panelist, and Craig Rice, Montgomery County Councilmember

“Our children will lead us into the future,” said Councilmember Craig Rice. “We have faith and trust in them. We must provide a clear-eyed and thorough history to educate and prepare them. Then our children and our children’s children can have the future we dream for them.”

The event included a panel discussion on the importance of preserving African American culture in Montgomery County. I was asked to participate because Montgomery County served as my training ground while in graduate school for my Ph.D. at Duke in the late 1970s. I was hired by the Maryland Historical Trust and Sugarloaf Regional Trails, to document historical African American communities, photographing houses and buildings, and recording oral histories, all of which resulted in the publication of my Black Historical Resources of Upper Western Montgomery County. Another focus of my work during that period was a historical house built in 1874 by an African American landowning family near Poolesville, which was recently selected and placed on exhibit by the National Museum of African American History and Culture as the “Freedom House.”

Panelists George W. McDaniel and Gwen Reese

Other panelists were Gwen Reese, Founder and President of the Sugarland Ethno History Project, Inc., and a representative of St. Paul’s Community Church, Sugarland, and Christine Clarke, former County liaison to the African American community and resident of the Village of Jerusalem in Poolesville. More about the event and its speakers can be found here

Complete video footage, including a wonderful segment focusing on African American leaders in the community, is available below. The event concluded with an awards ceremony recognizing panelists and community leaders.

Montgomery County Council 2018 Commemoration of Black History Month & Award Presentation, Rockville, MD

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

George W. McDaniel, Ph.D., is President of McDaniel Consulting, LLC, a strategy firm that helps organizations use history to build bridges within itself and to its broader constituents. The company’s tag line, “Building Bridges through History,” is grounded in McDaniel’s personal beliefs and his experience in site management, preservation, education, board development, fundraising, and community outreach. Rather than using history to divide us, he strives to help organizations use history, especially local history, to enhance cross-cultural understanding and to support local museums, preservation, and education. Dr. McDaniel recently led volunteer efforts with Emanuel AME Church and historical organizations in Charleston to use historic preservation to enhance racial reconciliation and healing. McDaniel is also the Executive Director Emeritus of Drayton Hall, a historic site in Charleston, SC, owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He retired from Drayton Hall in 2015 after 25 years of distinguished service.

A frequent writer, speaker, and facilitator about such issues, he can be reached at gmcdaniel4444@gmail.com or through his website at www.mcdanielconsulting.net.

Header Image: Montgomery County Council members, panelists, and award recipients.