Many of you know I make this report each year for the past few years and I try to make it an interesting part of history for all mankind.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson realized the importance of providing a theme that would focus the attention of the public when he established Negro History Week in 1926. Nowadays we know it as Black History Month, yea a whole 30 days. The association for study of African American Life and History dedicates the anniversary of two important African American turning points, the 1863 Emancipation and the 1963 March on Washington. Did you notice those dates are 100 years apart.

My father was in that era born around 1876 in slavery along with my mom in June 1898. They met and married to have 18 kids, 6 of them did not live pass 3 to 5 months and died. No incubators or hospital births in those days. I'm their 18 birth of 8 sons and 4 daughters, with one set of twin girls born just before me in 1935. My second oldest sister is still here at age 83 this year in April. We still have 3 boys and 2 girls alive. My dad passed in 1955 and my mom in 1985.

The Emancipation Proclamation, decreed by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declared slaves in all confederate states then at war with the Union "Forever Free" and made them eligible for paid military service in the Union Army. Although it did not end slavery in the nation, it did transform the character of the war. After the proclamation was made, every advance of Federal troops expanded the domain of freedom and black men were allowed to serve in the Union Army and Navy in separate units from white troops. By the end of the war almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for freedom.

The March on Washington for jobs and freedom took place on August 28, 1963 in Washington D.C. where more than 200,000 demonstrators took part in the walk. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I have a dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, noting that the Emancipation Proclamation gave hope to black slaves. The following year Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a concrete step towards fulfilling the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation.

This is the month we celebrate Presidents day and the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as holidays on different Mondays in February as we have now for many years. History is a beautiful study as we celebrate the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the march on Washington giving thanks to Dr. King and it's the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Get outside and enjoy your given time off from work. Valentines day is coming in a couple days so being with the one(s) you love that loves you too will show your love for them with a gift from your heart and your favorite store. Happy Valentines Day to all of you!

May the grace of God continue to bless and keep you in His hands giving you strength for all the task ahead as we travel by faith, not by sight! Peace and pray for our military men and women in harms way fighting for our continued freedom