Steve Nunez

Feb. 20—Black History Month is a celebration of the achievements of African Americans and a time to reflect on African American history. For me, it is also a reminder of my personal promise to become more informed by and more connected to the African American community in the Johnstown area.

As part of that personal promise, I have been attending events, meeting with African American community leaders, and reading relevant literature. I have so much to learn.

A few weeks ago, I attended a virtual presentation hosted by the NAACP that celebrated the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and chronicled some of the history of the civil rights movement. It was a stark reminder of how far we have come and how far we must go to have true equality.

I've also been reading the book "Roots: The Saga of an American Family."

This novel, written in 1976 by Alex Haley, follows the life of Kunta Kinte who was abducted from Africa and sold into slavery circa 1765.

Considered historical fiction, the novel, beautifully crafted, is a difficult read as it describes, in great detail, the lives of Black slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries. It chronicles, through story, the culture of American slaves along with their suffering and oppression — but also their hope and fortitude. While a work of fiction, the book has been applauded for its realistic depiction of slavery in the American South.

As a young child who was living in the hills of southwest Virginia and with access to cable and satellite TV a decade away, I watched whatever my parents wanted to watch — on one of the three TV channels we could get with our large TV antenna attached to the deck. As a young lad, I had the responsibility, rain or shine, to rotate the antenna in order to get the best reception for a particular channel.

I can still hear my Dad's voice, emanating from his favorite chair in the living room, as he directed me in my tuning efforts. I was rewarded for my hard work by having to watch programs such as "The Lawrence Welk Show," "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom," "Laugh-In" and the Sunday night movie.

I tell you that because in 1977, "Roots" was made into a TV miniseries. I have a strong memory of watching this series with my family; I was 7 years old.

While I couldn't tell you much about specific details anymore, the memory of that miniseries reminds me of a famous quote by Maya Angelou: "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

I remember how that miniseries made me feel. It was an important event in my life as it helped shape my worldview — and inspired me when I made my youngest son, who was a teenager at the time, watch the movie "Schindler's List."

With Jake and I sitting together in our living room, it provided me with a great opportunity to discuss racism and oppression and to show, through that movie, what racism can look like at its worst.

I bet my own parents thought similarly about the TV miniseries "Roots."

On a different note, an old friend reached out to me to let me know that she sometimes reads these monthly articles.

Thank you for doubling my readership, my friend, and you are always welcome here.

See you at Penn Highlands.