A Colorful History

The Southside Steppers from York, Pennsylvania have been a part of the festival for thirteen years. Fifteen girls, ages 10 to 16, practice two times a week. The team's director says taking part in the festival teaches the girls to learn and value the differences in others, even beyond skin color.

A man born in Hollidaysburg, Blair County, became the first person to ever perform open heart surgery. He was black. Raymond James, who lived in Altoona, became the first black judicial figure in Pennsylvania. A man born in Altoona became the first African American dean at the University of Kentucky, and churches scattered across the county were part of the Underground Railroad. It is an area rich in African American history, and the Heritage Project Committee hasn't forgotten that.

The African American Heritage Project of Blair County (AAHP) was formed in 1992 under the leadership of Reverend Paul Johnson and Cummins McNitt, the archivist for the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum at the time. The organization's members wanted to document the history of the African American culture in Blair County for future generations and help bridge gaps within the community through public programming. This was accomplished through festivals, panel discussions, speakers, public access television programs, and photo exhibits.

The first African American festival was held at Garfield Park in 1993, then moved to the Penn State Altoona campus the following year, where it's been ever since. The festival is held the fourth Saturday of July to coincide with "Sunday School Picnic," which has been in existence for more than seventy years. African American church members gather at what is now DelGrosso's Amusement Park (formerly Bland's Park) on the fourth Sunday for fellowship and to enjoy a day out. The Heritage Festival adds to the family weekend and provides an opportunity for the entire community to celebrate a culture. Craft and food vendors attend, as well as musicians, dancers, and story tellers. Even a disposed king of Rwanda was a special guest one year.

Festival attendance has been as high as 5,000, but now averages around 1,200 each year. "I would love for those who are younger to get involved," says AAHP chairperson Harriet Gaston, also a Penn State Altoona staff member. "We think it would be very important for younger people to become a part of this organization and help promote not only the festival, but the continued gathering and documentation. It's really a preservation of history and our culture."

The AAHP members hope to continue documenting the history of African Americans in the area and eventually publish a book of their findings. They'd also like to create a physical location to house what they have collected and establish the organization as a non-profit.

Plans are already in the works for next year's festival. You can check out the AAHP Web site at http://www.altoona.psu.edu/aahp to get involved.

What's a festival without crafts? 2007 marked the fifth year Family Affair Crafts participated in the African American Heritage Festival. Family members say setting up shop at the festival year after year is worth it. They love the sense of community and appreciate being able to celebrate their identity as well as showcase heritage-specific arts and crafts.

Brightly colored wraps made by the hands of children thousands of miles away were for sale at the festival. For Your Heart and Home purchased the goods from Liberian orphans and brought them to the festival hoping to get their story out to the public. This was the first year For Your Heart and Home vendors attended the event. Although the vendors were caucasian, they say they still felt part of the African American community, and were impressed with the spiritual aspect of the culture.