7th Annual Gold Rush Days 2006 ~ Golden Legacy of Black Sacramento

Golden Legacy in Black Sacramento
by Michael Harris, Exhibit Curator

Gold Rush Days ~ Ethnic Village 2006
Labor Day Weekend, September 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
Old Sacramento, California

Our Golden Legacy of Black Sacramento Exhibit showcases our historic spirit of collective community development. We provide a unique opportunity for community members to share, view and purchase historic photographs and source documentation. Everyone can assist ongoing research by providing family photos or archival information. Our Exhibit features a “Black Sacramento Archives Office” to preserve Black Sacramento (1845 -1985.)

This is our first year of exhibiting at Gold Rush Days Old Sacramento and we are thankful for the opportunity to present our Golden Legacy of Back Sacramento Exhibit. Exhibit design elements highlight our specific intent of stimulating civic pride and community involvement. We will provide an breathtaking, historic educational entertaining experience appropriate for school age children, young adults, adults and elders. We will ignite your spark of spiritual divinity and build self-esteem within each and every visitor.

Our mandate from our elders and ancestors, is build support toward inclusion of an authentic Black presence throughout Old Sacramento for the 5 million annual visitors.

Black tourists, business travelers and especially regional school children should be able to stroll through the streets of Old Sacramento with pride and confidence, experiencing the significant Black contribution to the Gold Rush Era and our central role in a transition of California from the Mexican Republic to becoming the 31st U.S. State. The contributions of Black Californians in a 10,000+ year history of Aboriginal, Spanish, Mexican and today U.S. Statehood. Our golden legacy should not be a secret. We must insure the rightful place of honor for all authentic contributions to our Old Sacramento National Historic District.

Central to the early Black Sacramento experience in the Gold Rush era was the solid leadership role of the early Black Church, established in 1848. Black pioneers freeborn and enslaved traveled from Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Washington D.C., Maryland, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Louisiana, Alabama and the far reaches of the Pan-African diaspora. Black Pioneers created a solid foundation and established the wealthiest documented Black Agricultural Community in the United States of America.

Throughout the entire Sacramento River Basin a hope and promise of new opportunity was a shared community experience at weeklong church activities highlighting ancient African value system of infusion of Spirituality in all daily behavior. The Sacramento community provided the economic opportunity, spiritual strength, and emotional stamina necessary to endure the legal challenges specific to Black humanity in the State of California.

Your participation at our historic exhibit ‘Golden Legacy of Black Sacramento,’ will showcase to our youth the benefits of positive spiritual growth through educational opportunity that sustains economic development, over time. We are preparing to accommodate record-breaking attendance of over 150,000 visitors Labor Day weekend.

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