- April 19, 2024
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The Youth Black History Program Chairperson Jeannette Wheeler and Valerie Betts.
The Youth Black History Program Chairperson Jeannette Wheeler with her family: her husband James Wheeler, son Johnnie Wheeler and his wife, Angela Wheeler.
The Youth Black History Program featured performances from the community's youth detailing African history and a skit about Juneteenth's history. The part of "Heritage" was played by Edwina Mezo Brown.
Najee Monroe, performing as the "Voice of Reason." The Youth Black History Program featured performances from the community's youth detailing African history and a skit about Juneteenth's history.
The African American Cultural Society hosts its Youth Black History Program with performances from young members of the community.
Jaiyse Williams performs "Freedom" by Pharell Williams. The Youth Black History Program featured performances from the community's youth detailing African history and a skit about Juneteenth's history.
The Matanzas High School Rhythm-N-Blues Step team — Savanna Foster, Owen Roberts, Janiya Galvin and their coach Khadijah Jones — performed at the Youth Black History Program on Sunday, Feb. 19.
The Youth Black History Program featured performances from the community's youth detailing African history and a skit about Juneteenth's history.
The Youth Black History Program featured performances from the community's youth detailing African history and a skit about Juneteenth's history. Faith Robinson, Joy Prime, Najee Monroe, Khadijah Jones, Savanna Foster and Owen Roberts.
The Youth Black History Program featured performances from the community's youth detailing African history and a skit about Juneteenth's history. Najee Monroe, Khadijah Jones, Savanna Foster and Owen Roberts.
Jeannette Wheeler, the youth program's chairperson, was honored with a longterm-service award by AACS Board of Directors Chair Stephanie Matthews, AACS President Joseph Jones and Jonathan Robinson and Jill Prime, representing the past and current members of the Youth Black History Program.
The Youth Black History Program featured performances from the community's youth detailing African history and a skit about Juneteenth's history. Maxwell Lee, Edwina Mezo Brown, Jaiyse Williams, Miles Lee and Sheldon Hadley.
AACS President Joseph Jones with James Wheeler at the Youth Black History Program's 20th anniversary.
Janice White Voles and Janette White Van Dyke are sisters of Samuel White, one of the young Black men arrested for staging a sit-in at a Woolworth lunch counter in St. Augustine during the civil rights movement.
Youth program Chairperson Jeannette Wheeler, a former member of the program, Jonathan Robinson, and Jill Prime, the mistress of ceremony at the performance on Sunday, Feb. 19.
AACS President Joseph Jones and Youth Black History Program Chairperson Jeanette Wheeler with Janette White Van Dyke and Janice White Voles, sisters of Samuel White, one of the four black men infamously arrested in St. Augustine during the civil rights movement.
The Matanzas High School Rhythm-N-Blues Step team — Savanna Foster, Owen Roberts, Janiya Galvin and their coach Khadijah Jones — performed at the Youth Black History Program on Sunday, Feb. 19.
The Matanzas High School Rhythm-N-Blues Step team — Savanna Foster, Owen Roberts, Janiya Galvin and their coach Khadijah Jones — performed at the Youth Black History Program on Sunday, Feb. 19.
The Matanzas High School Rhythm-N-Blues Step team — Savanna Foster, Owen Roberts, Janiya Galvin and their coach Khadijah Jones — performed at the Youth Black History Program on Sunday, Feb. 19.
The actors on the stage at the African American Cultural Society on Feb. 19 wore signs portraying them as ideals and emotions: There was “Fear,” “Doubt,” “Freedom,” “Heritage” and “The Voice of Reason.”
Members of AACS’s Youth Black History Program, the actors were marking the program’s 20th anniversary with a skit called “Freedom,” about the history of Juneteenth and the dichotomy of fear and hope slaves might have felt after being granted their freedom — their doubts about what it would mean for them and their lives.
Edwina Mezo Brown, the voice of “Heritage,” and Jill Prime, the event’s mistress of ceremony, led the crowd through engaging monologues about African history, the slave trade, American slavery and the civil rights movement.
There’s only one race: the human race. — Edwina Mezo Brown, the voice of "Heritage"
“There’s only one race,” Brown said in her performance. “The human race.”
The event also featured performances by Jaiyse Williams — a member of the program who led the audience in song — and the Matanzas High School Rhythm-N-Blues Step Team.
There were also two surprise speakers: Janette White Van Dyke and Janice White Voles, sisters of Samuel White, of St. Augustine. In July 1963, White and other young protestors were arrested for staging a sit-in at a “whites only” lunch counter at a local Woolworth. White, then 14, was among four who rejected a plea deal that would have required them to stop participating in civil rights demonstrations. They became known as the St. Augustine Four.
Van Dyke said she and her siblings helped integrate the schools in St. Augustine. She remembers marching alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I think every youth should know their history, regardless of their color,” Van Dyke said.
AACS President Joseph Jones said that while the Youth Black History Program is a way to inspire pride in the community’s children, it also helps them in their everyday lives. He said it is up to the next generation to take AACS and continue perpetuating their culture.
“We are in good hands,” Jones said.
Youth Black History Program Chairperson Jeannette Wheeler also announced at the event that she would be stepping down from the program’s committee after 20 years of service.
AACS Board of Directors Chair Stephanie Matthews presented Wheeler with a longterm service award.
“It was your idea, your vision,” Matthews said to Wheeler. “And you brought it to fruition.”
“It’s been a good ride,” Wheeler said. “A lot of fun.”
Wheeler, 91, began the program 20 years ago when there were very few children in the community, she said.
The community and program have grown since then, and the program has been able to fund $100,000 in scholarships for students over the years.
But, Wheeler said, there is still a long way to go.
She encouraged the adults in the community to get involved as well, supporting younger members.
Young people, you are the stars ... If you know about your past it will help you make decisions for your future. — Jeannette Wheeler, Youth Black History Program chair
“Young people, you are the stars,” Wheeler said. “If you know about your past, it will help you make decisions for your future.”
