By Michelle Mueller
Contributing Writer
July 1, 2021
After all of the outdoor activities that had been planned by community members to celebrate the new national holiday of Juneteenth were rained out last Saturday, the organizers – Lenn Reid, Vivian Davis, Cliff Harris, Eddie Williams, Christine Crawford, Dannon Reid, Marquetta Frost, and Tonya Arnett – decided to reschedule and move the event indoors on July 26th at the Marshall Opportunity High School.
Spread throughout the entire west side of the former Albion High School were scattered areas with several vendors selling African American themed items such as artwork, clothing and hats, and jewelry, a Calhoun County health fair occupying the former library area – and delivering COVID-19 vaccine shots to those needing them – information booths, a cardio drumming class courtesy of the YMCA, and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament organized by Milt Barnes of Play Right Sports Academy.
In the auditorium, programming for the afternoon included a welcome from Lenn Reid, followed by comments from local politicians Jim Haadsma, Gary Tompkins, and Sen. Dr. John Bizen (via his representative Karen Todd), as well as Dr. Wesley Dick on behalf of the NAACP Albion Chapter.
Reid also took the occasion to announce that the new pavilion in Holland Park was being dedicated to another local African American hero. “Hereafter, it will be known as The Dr. Harry J. Bonner Pavilion, for one of Albion’s most distinguished persons. Mr. Bonner’s endless work with both youth and adults in Albion earned him the right to be honored and acknowledged,” she said.
Musical performances by local artists, the band Air Tight, and rapper Santrell Perez, ended the afternoon’s entertainment.
Photos by Michelle Mueller except as noted. Photos and story copyright, The Recorder.
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Michelle Mueller
Michelle is the author of the book Mr. Bonner: The Story of a Mentoring Journey, which was released in 2019. She has written for The Recorder, the Albion College Io Triumphe magazine, and she is an enthusiastic scrapbooker in her spare time. See more articles by Michelle Mueller here: www.albionmich.net/writer-mueller/
