City of Gainesville celebrates Black History Month
Press release from the City of Gainesville
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The City of Gainesville observes Black History Month with a showcase of performances and remembrance events at several municipal venues. Events are free and open to the public.
Black History Month is a month-long celebration of the achievements and cultural recognition of African Americans, from the early days of the Abolitionist movements, Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance, Black Arts Movement, and the Civil Rights Movement during Jim Crow to the present day.
The Florida Invitational Step Show, “The Stroll”
When: Noon-3 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 7
Where: Bo Diddley Plaza, 111 E. University Ave.
Join African American sororities and fraternities and local cheer and dance teams for an electrifying step show. Event features Zeta Kappa – Phi Beta Sigmas, ReKonstruction Dance Troupe (REKO – FAMU, BSU, and UCF), local dance teams Smooth Flava Dance, Top Notch Divas, The Infamous Diamonds, and more.
A Celebration of Black Love Art and Poetry
When: 6-9 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 7
Where: Oakview Community Center, 810 NW 8th Ave.
Poets and visual artists will feature the essence of Black love in a poetry showcase and local visual artists. Event co-sponsored by Bailey Learning and Arts Collective, Inc.
Rosa Parks Day
When: 11 a.m. on Tues., Feb. 24
Where: RTS Rosa Parks Transfer Station, 700 SE 3rd St.
This event celebrates the life and legacy of Rosa Parks (Feb. 4, 1913-Oct. 24, 2005) at the city’s Regional Transit System bus station named in her honor. In 1955, the civil rights activist refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. Her actions sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and helped fuel the Civil Rights Movement and the end of racial segregation.
Evergreen Cemetery Self-guided Tour
Where: 401 SE 21st Ave.
All month long, Gainesville honors the lives, achievements, and contributions of the Black residents interred at the City’s only municipal cemetery by sharing stories on its Facebook page. On-site honorary signage will indicate the gravesites of bluesman Willie Green, club owner Sarah McKnight, and others, for neighbors who wish to take a self-guided tour of the historic cemetery, established in 1856.
Here we go again…..another annual pilgrimage by the media and leftist to convince us of the ‘worth’ of a culture that appears dedicated to destroying themselves with drugs, crime, poor education, and a hatred towards white people. Sorry….but this is not meant to be racist as it contains too much truth.
Lou, its not taken as racist, its taken as ignorance, and not even to your own fault.
Can you offer any reasoning as to why there is an appearance of willfully dedication to or for self-destruction.
I’m curious to know what you attribute this to.
Also I need you to articulate the “hatred towards white people”.
Just one question for you if we had a white history month how long do you think it would be before the NAACP filed a lawsuit?
Howard my guy, its been white history month since the Renaissance. lmao
Now come back to this after you have done some research and understand.
There was never a picture of a white Jesus until the Moors, who ruled all of Europe fell, since then it has been white history,month,year,decade,and century. lmao
G, do you really think St Patrick’s Day is about our affection for a Catholic saint, or is it a celebration of the Irish? How about “The San Gennaro Festival is NYC’s iconic 11-day Italian-American street fair in Little Italy”? Another Catholic saint we all love, or is it the street pizza and canolis? Hey! Cinco de Mayo? No tacos and Modelo for you!
We’re talking celebratingone day with most holidays not a whole damn month same thing could be said about pride month the whole damn month damn ridiculous
G, I’m glad to see that you – and Bear – have both dropped your race based opposition to Black History Month and instead now say it’s only the length you oppose.
I will offer this. This country has gone from celebration of holidays to this ridiculous week/month long crap. This includes all holidays.President’s DAY, MLK DAY, Independence DAY, Christmas DAY. These are DAYs of celebration not weeks, months of made up holiday things. Unfortunely Lou does make valid points about race related destruction. Black on black crime exceeds any other racial crimes by leaps and bounds. Racial tensions towards other cultures is fueled by DEI and far left woke ideas.How many decades have gone by where politicians, government, and teachers tell the black community to embrace welfare, and government assistance because they not educated enough or qualified enough to be gainfully employed. How many actors, politicians, and others gave demonized the white culture only to be found out they are married to whites. As far as drugs are concerned ANY person willing to sell poison to their community without conscience needs to be cut from the herd.
And before you cast me out as a racist or ignorant realize that I am a person who comes from a mixed racial background. I was taught to work hard, learn as much as you can, do not rely on others to get ahead.
Bear, I agree with some of what you and Lou had to say, the problem is nobody has ever tried to understand why.
I’m trying to get us white and black, to start getting into why its like this.
If we never get to the bottom of the why, how can get to the point of change and improvement.
It’s very simple Common Sense…..I have seen the enemy….and it is us! Once we started funding welfare in the form of SNAP, Section 8, SSI for ‘autism’ (bogus dx) we enabled a willing group to let US pay for raising their adolescent criminal offspring.
It wasn’t y’all, it was LBJ and Co., they started the depend on the government and not your husband or community.
They are the architects of economic dependence over economic independence in the black community.
So when you teach an entire generation of black women they don’t need a man because the government will provide for them.
That destroys the black community and creates generations of Women raising their babies to trust in the government more than themselves and their community.
Now your making some sense….Common Sense. Do you remember what LBJ said when he got the civil rights act passed?
It is the DEI crap that is presented in the work force, colleges and universities, as well as what is being taught at grade schools. If you keep telling people that they are inferior in society because of one race all you do is cast hatred. If you are going to be honest about things start with the fact that everyone is equal rights wise, but reality says that there are people of all colors that never going to be as book smart as others. That is a fact of life. That is why schools should be pushing higher education as well as trade schools. There are plenty of careers that earn six figures outside of a college degree. Having the right moral compass, and the drive to work, learn, etc needs to be taught at home and by the community. Not many people may agree with that but as society goes we have to stop teaching kids they are different because they are a different culture or color, and can’t get ahead because of that.
There is no doubt that like any movement of effort, there are excesses in DEI which we may criticize. The fact that not every white man you see in a job was not the best based on merit but knew somebody or looked like the boss’s son while the black guy did neither cannot be denied. Small businesses hire almost half of the people in the US and affirmative action and DEI have no effect on those hires. Attempts to make the big employers and government jobs hiring fair are admirable goals which – get ready white racists who love to quote him out of context – – MLK fully supported before he was assasinated.
Problem with the likely excesses of those programs – OK, let’s fix it. Problem with the concept and the goals? You sure Ol Bubba’ was the best man for the job?
Common, the first question is why is a planned celebration of one of America’s largest and most important social and racial group’s called by the likes of lou and Bear to answer for the sins of it’s worst members? WTF? No other minority in America has added as much to our history and our culture as blacks, and GD it, they have every right to parade it with pride. Hey, if it’s “The Stroll” or “the Two Step” they’ll parade it better than most and to the sound of the best of American music, and probaly have great barbecue at the break. lou and Bear? You stay home.
I am not complaining about a DAY of celebration. We do not need an entire month. Its as stupid as school l s giving 4 day weekends for MLK DAY,President’s Day, Thanksgiving, Day, over two weeks off for Christmas DAY and New Year’s DAY. ITS all holidays and remembrance that get hijacked into spending abd wasting money. Its a day period. This crap about this month is Black History, Gay pride Month, Hispanic Month, what’s next Dog Crap Month. If you are black, white, or polka dot everyday you should celebrate who you are, your culture, and fact you are an American – Period.
So Bear, with all the racial and political crap you were throwing in your earlier posts, you are now saying you only objected to how long the celebration will last. That’s an improvement.
Jazzman you think they are bad now. Just wait till June . And they start hating on Rainbows.
It must be so sad to live with all that hate in your heart.
So acknowledging history that has been covered up or never truly atoned for is “hate”.
That’s troglodyte level logic.
Sure….keep on crying. When will you get some common sense?
Just like whenever you can’t compete, you cry to the government, to make laws and impede the free market so you can stay afloat.
Remember, “the Chinese are flooding our markets”….well then make better products at a reasonable price so they cant do this, but noooooo.
Lol, we need to stop them, not do better than them.
One thing I have learned about white America and capitalism is that when they are winning its “free market baby”, when they aren’t winning its “how dare they do this to us, we need to move the goal posts”.
Here we go again. Lou wants to paint a group in our society by it’s worst members and ignore the success, achievements, cultural beauty they create, and hopes and goals they aspire to, all of which will be celebrated in Gainesville this month.
GFY
Sorry Jazz…..but the group you speak of has already irreparably damaged their ‘reputation’. Just read the FBI violent crime statistics.
lou, maybe you’re polynesian or aomething, but white people have a lot of bad people too and a not so great history dealing with others. With that and by your “standards”, I suppose we should all wear bags on our heads to hide the shame.
Every month is black history month in Gainesville…
True. Some are creating their history, or just adding to it. There are some histories people want to erase; maybe they should focus more on those being created.
As for a preceding comment—I believe there is a Certain SBAC member, (make that 2 members), who paint some demographics they exact same way. Doesn’t make it right, but at least recognize that as well.
“priming white voters with racist dog whistles was the means; the end was an economic agenda that was harmful to working- and middle-class voters of all races, including white people. In railing against welfare and the war on poverty, conservatives like President Reagan told white voters that government was the enemy, because it favored Black and brown people over them—but their real agenda was to blunt government’s ability to challenge concentrated wealth and corporate power.”
― Heather McGhee, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
Rich are getting richer while we argue, blame and name call.
For those who want some early fact checking on the DOGE DUMP, The Alligator does some – they missed Gainesville’s population by 200k – and gets other feedback from city officers.
https://www.alligator.org/article/2026/01/gainesville-alachua-county-fldoge-analysis