The nonprofit Juneteenth, Inc. was established four years ago by Springfield natives Shymeka Kerr-Gregory and Cherena Douglass to focus on preserving and continuing Springfield’s Juneteenth celebration legacy. “Juneteenth is the true Independence Day for all of us, and eradicating racism through education comes in many forms: arts and culture, history and sociology, music and entertainment […]
Pamela Woodson
Dr. Pamela Woodson of Springfield is an entrepreneur, author, freelance writer and former professor at Lincoln Land Community College and Benedictine University at Springfield. She is the owner and lead consultant of Pamela Speaks Training & Consulting.
Posted inArts & Culture
History is their story and ours
Route History, a Springfield museum that opened in 2019 to share stories about the tragedy, resilience and excellence of Black people along historic Route 66, is the brainchild of Dr. Gina Lathan. “I’m a researcher by trade, and when I became a grandma, I wanted to make sure my grandson, Blake, knew he came from […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Life with jazz
Delivered by Ms. Boykins, the local midwife, on Oct. 1, 1943, in Camden, Alabama, Virgil Julius Rhodes, Jr. made his entrance into the world as the first son of Virgil Sr. and Edna Bonner Rhodes. Virgil Jr. would be the eldest of three, born to the couple who met at Alabama State Teachers College for […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Resilient
Being the mother of an NBA player is exciting, but that’s not this ’60s baby’s only claim to fame. Linda Joyce Fields was born the sixth of eight children in Kansas City, Missouri. She grew up in a Black middle-class neighborhood. While the majority of families were working, two-parent households, these four brothers and three […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Museum quality
When they hear the name Nell Clay, many in Springfield think of the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum. And they should. “I want to make our museum a must-see,” Nell says delightedly. While COVID-19 has closed the museum for now, work doesn’t stop. Nell is busy updating the museum’s webpage and posting […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Harsh story well told
Sundown Town is an easy, yet difficult, read. It’s a page-turner with an unbelievable, yet believable, story. Taking the reader from Alabama to Illinois right before the turn of the century, the authors give us everything a well-rounded story needs to be good. Even an ending. Sundown Town utilizes the coal mine wars of the […]
