SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The stories of untold African American history resonate vibrantly along the streets of Sacramento.
On Thursday, community members began to share those stories with the African American Experience Project for the first time. The project will include extensive research, oral histories, community outreach, workshops and final documents to record and encompass all findings of the project.
"There’s a wider story that needs to be told about the contributions of black folk in America," said Carson Anderson, a former preservation director with the City of Sacramento.
He said family histories can help people trace the changes in neighborhoods, organizations, churches and mosques that were established by Black people, and "the battle to achieve civil rights and equality and how the forces of racism and segregation shaped the community."
At their first meeting Thursday night, the African American Experience Project heard from people in the community. One speaker shared the wisdom passed down from his mother.
"I felt that the information that she compiled may be helpful to someone else to try to find information on their family, which may be in the same circle," said Clinton Thames, a participant at the meeting.
This all comes as Lynette Hall, community engagement manager for the City of Sacramento, looks toward the next generation of Sacramentans.
"There’s some rich history that I want to teach my daughter, and I want to find some creative ways to document it so that she understands the history that’s been here for a long time," Hall said.
With the African American Experience Project, the stories of Black Sacramentans are being told and preserved for a new generation.
For more information on the project, click HERE.
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