Throughout our nation, people whose ancestry trace back to the African continent celebrate Black History Month each year during the month of February.

Here in the Miss-Lou, various churches, school groups and community organizations schedule some sort of commemorative event during this period. For many years there has been a community-wide celebration in the form of the annual Black History Month Parade.

Due to scheduling conflicts, and the lack of necessary funding, I am deeply saddened to inform the community that the parade, scheduled for Saturday Feb. 16, has been canceled. Plans for an alternative city-wide activity could not be carried out in the time allotted.

My apologies to the many groups and organizations here in the Miss-Lou that had begun preparing their entries for this year’s parade.

Please let me remind you that the African-American community is larger than any single event. The NAPAC museum celebrates Afro-American history and culture 365 days a year.

NAPAC is about to begin its 2008 membership campaign. Call 601-445-0728 for membership information. I urge you to become a partner. Volunteer to serve on one of our committees, and I can assure you that the 2009 Black History Month parade will truly be memorable.

Darrell S. White

NAPAC director