Our Black History Trail Marks First Site!

Sharing Our Stories to the Benefit of All

In a moving speech, Sgt. Major Jim Sands (US Army, Ret.), former city commissioner, honorary Buffalo Soldier, and president of the Black History Trail of Geary County, Inc., dedicates the first site on Geary County, Kansas’ proposed Black History Trail. VFW Post 8773 was formed by Black veterans of WWII who were discriminated against by the “white” VFW. The segregated post failed, while VFW Post 8773 is still going strong, open to veterans of all ethnicities.

Click here to see the ceremony (April 29, 2023) and hear Jim Sands' speech.

Click here to read "Founded by Outcasts," an article on the history of Post #8773.

Here are the additional sites in Junction City, Kansas, proposed for the city phase of the Trail:

Phase 2 will highlight sites in rural Geary County, including one to honor Harrison Fulghem, described here:

Organizers of the dedication gather around the newly-dedicated sign:

These organizers are smiling: the event was a huge success!! Not identified elsewhere are Fred Reid, back row left, Trail board and Post #8773 & regional chaplain, site organizer, and EmCee of dedication; Brewel Currie, back row second from right, Juneteenth Vice President, Job Corps educator, Trail supporter, and evangelist par excellence; Melanie Laster, front row right, Trail treasurer, secretary, & project director, Juneteenth essay and art coordinator, and Unity organizer; and the author, back row center, Trail VP, Juneteenth secretary, and Prairie Heritage treasurer.

Key contributors celebrate after the dedication:

From left, Henry Petty, local businessman, philanathropist, Trail board member, Mason, and supporter of Post #8773; Deliliah Hamilton, educator, Black history researcher, and member of the boards of Juneteenth, Prairie Heritage, and the Trail; Jim Sands, former city commissioner, honorary Buffalo Soldier, Juneteenth treasurer, and president of both the Trail & Prairie Heritage, Inc.; Heather Hagedorn, Executive Director of the Geary County (KS) Historical Society and designer of the newly dedicated sign in front of Post #8773; and Amanda Ravenstein, representative of the Geary County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) and guide to grant funding.

A grant from the CVB underwrote the event, including a magnificent community meal catered by the unparalleled Ms. Beverly Johnson, president of the Ladies Auxiliary, Post #8773.

A welcome grant from Humanities Kansas also supports Phase 1 of the Trail!

Led by Jim Sands, the Black History Trail of Geary County, Inc., is the center of a growing, multiethnic coalition of individuals and community groups. Working together to acknowledge the past and create a present of mutual appreciation and cooperation, the coalition often models the ways in which our society can call forth its pent-up vibrancy! On to the Beloved Community!

Sometimes I am asked why address both the Beloved Community and the Land Community in a single Substack. Aren’t social justice and ecological promotion (as in Essay 1) separate concerns? Absolutely not! In fact, naming them separately and thinking of them separately are symptoms of persistent injustices and abuses which we have yet to overcome! I will explain my answer in the next post.