‘We The People:’ CVCC holds 18th annual Black History Celebration
The program featured an emphasis on the phrase ‘We The People’ — the Preamble for the Constitution of the United States — and also a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the 15th amendment, which granted black males the right to vote.
02/26/2020
Catawba Valley Community College’s Office of Multicultural Affairs held its 18th annual Black History Celebration on Tuesday.
The program featured an emphasis on the phrase ‘We The People’ — the Preamble for the Constitution of the United States — and also a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the 15th amendment, which granted black males the right to vote.
It was a special night that also featured performances from St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church Choir, Morning Star First Baptist Church Choir and the Catawba Valley Community College Choral Department also took place at the event.
CVCC President Dr. Garrett Hinshaw served as the keynote speaker for the event, speaking to those in attendance about his institution’s commitment to promoting and celebrating diversity.
“We have made statements that we embrace diversity and that we are welcoming to everyone on our campuses, but I have to tell you still today sometimes those are just words as I look around and see evidence that ‘we’ really doesn’t mean ‘we’ — yet,” Hinshaw said. “We’re making progress, and we are committed to our vision through the establishment of the Office of Multicultural Affairs in challenging our value statements every year to see proof that we are achieving the dream.”
Hinshaw also challenged those in attendance to work within their own channels and networks to make an even deeper more personal impact.
“Look at the state of our community, our state and our nation. There are words like ‘we’ and ‘ours’ and ‘ourselves.’ These are just words that still have different meanings depending our race, our beliefs, our values and our differences, but we can’t sit here this evening and focus on those differences as negatives,” he said. “Instead, we must start within our own community and embrace each other as ‘we.’ We must demonstrate with our actions — not just with words that say ‘We The People.’ We must look in the mirror, look within our own organizations, look within our leadership and challenges ourselves to do something to make sure that ‘we’ really means ‘we.’”
During the event, the 2020 CVCC Multicultural Series Community Leader Award was presented to Rev. David E. Roberts II.
An Asheville native and Western Carolina University alumnus who now resides in Hickory, Roberts has been the pastor of Morning Star First Baptist Church for the past 12 years.
During his life, Roberts has been both an actor and also a 20-year member of the United States Navy where he was commissioned as an officer in 2000 and served during the Nicaraguan conflict.
Steve Hunt, executive director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, spoke highly of Roberts before presenting him with the Community Leader Award.
“(Roberts) epitomizes ‘We The People’ because this individual is involved in so many things across our city, across our county and across our state,” Hunt said. “He’s always willing to do, willing to help. One of his passions is the elderly and the other is youth and education. Every time I have a conversation with this individual, he is talking about one of those two things. He’s a dynamic individual. Hickory is better because of him. He came to this area some few years ago, and he hasn’t stopped running yet.”
The Catawba Valley Community College Office of Multicultural Affairs also unexpectedly received an award from the Interfaith Council for being recognized for their work with Interfaith Housing.
Photo Credit: Cody Dalton/Catawba Valley Community College
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