By Raul Garcia
Valley Morning Star
Staff writer
HARLINGEN — It was a brisk windy morning at the Fort Brown campus in Brownsville when Pastor Ray Ellington was researching black history in the Valley.
That day he was looking into the history of the Buffalo Soldiers who were stationed at Fort Brown and fought in the Civil War. He met up with Dr. Tony Zavaleta, a member of the board of trustees of Texas Southmost College, who has written and researched about the African American troops stationed at Fort Brown between 1864 to 1906.
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Ellington, originally from Arkansas, and an Army veteran is the pastor at the Corinth Baptist Church in Harlingen.
His recent trip to find out as much as he could about the Buffalo Soldiers stationed in Brownsville was because of the community event he’s spearheading focusing on black history in the Valley.
The all-day event will be Sunday, Feb. 26, from 11a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1201 W. Van Buren Ave. in Harlingen.
Ellington is requesting all African Americans in the Valley and the community to come and enjoy the day remembering black history in the Valley together.
“The reason we are doing this is because I’m a newcomer to the Valley and I had no idea of the black history here,” Ellington said. “When I started finding out about the rich African American history I knew I had to do this.”
Ellington said there are a significant number of blacks living in the Valley who don’t know the history of African Americans here.
He said the idea that this is a Hispanic community and blacks have no history here is wrong.
To read the rest of the story, click on link below:
http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/local_news/article_54a0038c-f660-11e6-8fe5-fba124319886.html#.WK9YlCp5xFU.email
HARLINGEN — It was a brisk windy morning at the Fort Brown campus in Brownsville when Pastor Ray Ellington was researching black history in the Valley.
That day he was looking into the history of the Buffalo Soldiers who were stationed at Fort Brown and fought in the Civil War. He met up with Dr. Tony Zavaleta, a member of the board of trustees of Texas Southmost College, who has written and researched about the African American troops stationed at Fort Brown between 1864 to 1906.
Ellington, originally from Arkansas, and an Army veteran is the pastor at the Corinth Baptist Church in Harlingen.
His recent trip to find out as much as he could about the Buffalo Soldiers stationed in Brownsville was because of the community event he’s spearheading focusing on black history in the Valley.
The all-day event will be Sunday, Feb. 26, from 11a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1201 W. Van Buren Ave. in Harlingen.
Ellington is requesting all African Americans in the Valley and the community to come and enjoy the day remembering black history in the Valley together.
“The reason we are doing this is because I’m a newcomer to the Valley and I had no idea of the black history here,” Ellington said. “When I started finding out about the rich African American history I knew I had to do this.”
Ellington said there are a significant number of blacks living in the Valley who don’t know the history of African Americans here.
He said the idea that this is a Hispanic community and blacks have no history here is wrong.
To read the rest of the story, click on link below:
http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/local_news/article_54a0038c-f660-11e6-8fe5-fba124319886.html#.WK9YlCp5xFU.email