Rev. Marvin Hightower, President, Peoria NAACP
Click on the arrow below to listen to the remarks. Audio courtesy of WCBU-FM 89.9. A transcript is below the photo. All photos courtesy of the City of Peoria.
I, like many others, believe that history is our greatest teacher. I also believe that history shouldn’t be covered up; it shouldn’t be hidden away. It definitely shouldn’t be banned, but it needs to be recognized so that we learn from history so that we won’t be doomed to repeat history.
And this is one of those steps in uncovering some very important history. And I believe that there are many other stories besides Nance Legins-Costley that have been hidden, so once we start to dig in this, we must keep on digging. We can’t stop here. We must continue on to uncover those very important and powerful stories.
And I believe that this day is a date marked out in history from the foundations of this world. And I also believe as the Bible says that the truth will make us free, and that’s why I believe that history is important.
Now before we go into our moment of silence, “The Battle Hymn” will be sung, “Amazing Grace”, and return of the colors will take place without interruption, and our own First Vice President Sherry Carter-Allen will be doing some singing. Thank you. We will do it for 30 seconds.