By Casey Gillis
cgillis@newsadvance.com
(434) 385-5525
The Legacy Museum’s latest fundraiser was inspired by board member Carla Heath’s time living in Kenya.
A harambee — an event often used in East Africa to raise money to build clinics, schools and other necessities when government funds aren’t available — is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday on the museum grounds.
In Swahili, “harambee” means “let’s all pull together.”
“Almost every night and certainly every weekend, there were harambees everywhere in (Kenya), in this village or that village, raising money for a school clinic or a politician or to send someone to school,” Heath says.
After doing some research into Lynchburg history, Heath discovered that a similar tradition took place here in the 1870s. Members of the African Baptist Church filled several washtubs with their savings to secure the purchase of a lot on the corner of Sixth and Court streets that became the permanent site of Court Street Baptist Church.
“It’s a great story,” Heath says. “They needed to buy the land. The white community didn’t want the land to be owned by black people, but they were able to raise the money.”
The Legacy harambee is free, but in a nod to the church and its members, visitors will be asked to help fill washtubs with contributions.
“We need the money so we can keep the doors open,” Heath says.
The harambee will feature an afternoon full of events, including several performances by Tree of Life gospel choir, Bountiful Blessings praise dancers, a Liberty University step team and Nataraja, a women’s drumming ensemble. There also will be a spoken word performance by Daveta Saunders and an appearance by the Seekers, who perform comedic and dramatic skits for young people, Heath says.
A homemade pound cake contest will be held, as well as a cake walk.
Heath says they’ll also be encouraging people to become members of the museum.
“I think there are many people who think the Legacy Museum is just for African Americans,” she says. “It does tell the stories of local African Americans, but it really is all of our history. The idea of having people become members is to take ownership in the museum.”
If you’re going
- WHAT: Harambee
- WHEN: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
- WHERE: The Legacy Museum of African American History, 403 Monroe St. in downtown Lynchburg
- ADMISSION: Free, but contributions will be collected.
- INFO: (434) 845-3455 or www.legacymuseum.org
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