Sunday, February 1

Black History Month 2009: The Founding of the NAACP

February is Black History Month and this year is the Centennial of the NAACP. On February 12, 1909, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded by a multiracial group of activists, who answered "The Call," in the New York City, NY. They initially called themselves the National Negro Committee.


On the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, February 12, 1909, six black and white citizens, formed the NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The struggle of African Americans to secure their rights had sometimes led to violent confrontations between blacks and whites. This is the Centennial year of the founding of the NAACP and is being celebrated throughout February, which is Black History Month.


I have always been interested in Black History and throughout February, I will occasionally post articles recognizing the role that African Americans and Canadians have played in the history of these countries.
Just to let my readers know that Meeko is missed here. The house is eerily silent. No toenails clicking on the laminate floor. No jingling of dogtags, but we are thankful for the eight years that we had him as our constant companion. He will always hold a special place in our hearts.


I had a touch of cabin fever today and wanted to get out of the house. It is strange being here without Meeko. It's been 20 years since we've been without a canine companion in the house, which makes us feel rather lost. So, when the power went out, we gave up our cleaning projects and went for a drive in the countryside, along the Grand River.

The river is high and in some places it is iced over and the water is not evident. In others, it is moving swiftly. It was a mild day and I thought there might be some ducks or geese about, but we didn't see any.

The above photo was taken from an old railroad bridge that has been made into a walkway. This allows people to get to different areas of the city by crossing the river instead of having to walk all the way around. It is very convenient. You can see another old bridge in the distance if you look closely.

This is an area of trails and there is a bench in this lovely spot where you can sit and a place for kids to have a bit of a break. I love the old evergreen. It has been there for as long as I can remember. There was no trail when I was young, but the old evergreen was there.
This is a spot along another area of the hiking trail. You can see the Grand River just beyond the shrubbery. It was flowing swiftly in this spot. I am looking downriver.
The Grand is really high in this spot and there will definitely be flooding when the ice melts upriver. This is not uncommon here. There is also a trail nearby and this is a great spot to park your car in the spring and take a nice walk. This is the area of the river that was right in front of us.

This is the same area but from a different angle. Here, I'm looking upriver. I love the shades of blue in this photo. This is part of the trail. As you can see by the sign, the trail is closed, but some people have been walking in the area and it was a nice day for a walk today. Hubby and I didn't walk this section of trail today. We are planning on a return visit in the spring, after the flooding has subsided and the mud has dried up.

Thanks for coming along with me on our little excursion. When we got back to the house, the power was back on but while I was writing this post it went off again for about five minutes. Not sure what is up with that, as it isn't storming and there is no snow or ice that should be affecting the lines.

Thank you to all those who left comments and sent cards of sympathy over the weekend. Your kind words of love and support were very much appreciated.

Take care and enjoy your week. Remember to take time to do a random act of kindess. ~Blessings, Mary~

21 comments:

  1. I enjoyed your walk along the Grand River. You had some pretty pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for sharing your walk with us all. I am looking foreward to reading more about Black History month.

    My thoughts are with you.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have missed some posts I am so sorry for your loss of your eet Meeko. have a Blessed week...m.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It looks like a therapeutic day. I'm sure you needed it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm still in shock myself about Meeko...I'm so sorry. That just breaks my heart, and I have been praying for you and your hubby. I know you must be so lonely and sad..but you know that you did the best thing for your friend, and that he is in a better way.

    Loved your pictures they were lovely.

    Love, Jess

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mary, forgive me for getting so behind in blogland...it's been a busy weekend and I'm just now catching up. I am SO sorry at your losing your beloved dog, Meeko. My heart aches for you...what a beautiful member of the family he was and I know how much you all are missing him!

    What a beautiful winter walk...

    I am going to go read the "remember when" post now, too...

    (((HUGS)))
    ~Tammy

    ReplyDelete
  7. Pretty photos Mary. I too am interested in Black History, I think that back in the day of the underground railroad I would've helped escaping slaves for sure. I have never been one "for segregation".

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dear Mary, was just getting caught up and found your post about Meeko. I am so very sorry, I know the hurt and loss. Thank you for thinking of Meeko and his comfort and not putting him through any additional pain. Our pets fill our hearts with so much joy and comfort. We send our love, Barbara and crew

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for taking us along your walk. Peace

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hello dear Mary,

    I wish I could have been with you on that walk you did...I'm having cabin fever myself these days! lol I want to start traveling so badly again!!! Is is Spring yet??? I so enjoyed your pictures and I can see how high the water is. Hopefully the flooding won't be too bad.

    I can well imagine how much you're missing Meeko. Put a leash on Dwight and take him for a walk...yikes, don't tell him I said that, he'll strangle me the next time he sees me! LOL Seriously, my heart goes out to you both for Meeko's loss. xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  11. We here in America will have I believe five new pennies [coins] that will celebrate Lincoln, starting on the birthday...February 12th, I look forward to getting those to collect also. I've seen the preview of the issues online, and look very good.

    I too have been interested in Black History. There is a book by I believe it's Gwen Bagin that I'm looking for...it was published in the late 1970s I think...it's called Backstairs at the White House about the staff...particularly a mother and daughter generation of working for all the U S presidents. I am still looking for it. I hope to come across it some day and read it again...it was also a mini series on TV...Excellent!!

    Great post.

    The photos are a winter wonderland. Sending comforting hugs to you and your dear man. Meeko is missed by me too. I know how much you cared for him.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mary, I enjoyed reading your post and going along on your trip. Beautiful photos!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you for your pictures of winter along the Grand River, and the story of the Old Evergreen. It was a wonderfully spontaneous thing to do, to deal with the power outage and, no doubt, some cabin fever.

    Your memorial to Meeko, with the running snowdog, and the picture of Meeko on the porch is beautiful. May it bring comfort.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Mary,
    I was so sad to read about Meeko. I know you are heart broken. He was such a beautiful and sweet boy.You are in our thoughts and prayers.

    I hope you don't mind, I did a short post about Meeko and put a picture with it.

    Sharon (Rusty's mom)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Nice pictures of our river, Mary. I walked trails around the Speed River this weekend. Sunday was such a beautiful day. I thought I could smell a hint of spring in the air.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Beautiful pictures girl!! I love the winter walks..... We have not gotten out much this year but we really need to........ It would be wonderful to have such a place to walk..... thinking about you this morning........... You were on my heart.........

    I will send that Paypal request tonight...I guess.... would rather just give to you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm so sorry for your lost of Meeko. I once had a dog "Butch" that looked like Meeko and he and I would go for walks together and we both enjoyed it very much.
    One thing about my job I get to take my client dog "Rex" for a walk and he got a personality of Northern dog.

    I didn't know that NAACP was start on Lincoln 100th birthday.
    This 12th of Feb Lincoln 200th birthday.

    Coffee is on.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Lovely photos. All that snow!! Wish we had some here in Delaware.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hello Miss Mary,

    I tend to be an impulsive person, so one day when I was moaning about the dark, yucky kitchen I decided to paint a flower on one of the cupboards. That was the sunflower, well now it has spread and I have more,lol.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Mary-I loved your snowy trip. And I'm glad your power was restored.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Loved the pictures of your walk.The blues in the sky are beautiful. YOu have a tad more snow than us. We got some last night and school let out early today and we are expecting a good bit tonight.

    Funny but our news just mentioned that it is black history month. I will look forward to your post.
    Praying for you girl.

    ReplyDelete