Black History Month--Bringing it home

When Black History Month comes around, we often talk about people like Thurgood Marshall or Hank Aaron or Aretha Franklin or Maya Angelou. On Thursday evening, Feb. 23, at the Stoneham Public Library, story tellers and performers will highlight African Americans in our own town—families who settled in Stoneham after the Civil War and in the 20th century.

For example, the Yanceys. I’ve already written about one of this long-time Stoneham family. His name was Carl Yancey, and he became the first African-American state trooper in Massachusetts. A three-sport, high-school athlete, Carl attended college, then served in Vietnam, where he, like his brother, Robert, was awarded the Bronze Star.

After the war, Carl enrolled in the Police Academy, and upon graduating, began a 30-year career in the Massachusetts State Police. Last week the State Police posted a tribute to Carl Yancey, along with several photos. You can see them on the State Police Facebook page.

But there’s much more to learn about this remarkable clan, and Dee Morris, local historian and story teller, has stories to share about their lives. In the Feb. 23rd program, you’ll learn about Virginia Yancey, born during slavery in Virginia, who with three children and her husband, Robert Williamson, settled in Stoneham.

You’ll hear about James Yancey, who had his own brass band called the Juanitas. You’ll learn of Eula Yancy, a jazz singer, and about Bertha, who spent nine years teaching school in the South.

Dee Morris’ stories will follow a presentation by music historian John Clark on African-American music. An accomplished jazz musician and teacher, Clark is known for his presentations on American music.

The evening will also include a performance by a member of another Stoneham African American family. Dance artist Janelle Gilchrist, who grew up in Stoneham, will perform “Deep River” to music sung by Marian Anderson and “Reverie” by Debussy, a piece she choreographed.

On the faculty of the Boston Arts Academy, she specializes in ballet, modern, jazz, and hip-hop.

Sybil Gilchrist, Janelle’s mother, will showcase African Americans in her family who served in World War I. A retired French teacher, Sybil has done extensive research on her family roots in Virginia.

African-Americans have never been more than 2 to 3 percent of our town’s population. Yet, like many of us, they arrived in Stoneham looking for a good place to work, raise a family and educate their children.

It wasn’t always smooth sailing, as in the story of Charles Cephas, born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1840. Dee Morris told his story in an earlier presentation at the Library.

Cephas, who may have escaped slavery in Virginia, served in the Union Navy during the Civil War, then came to Stoneham, married and raised five children. A mason by trade, he did well, opening his own business. A brief item in the Stoneham Independent reported him digging a 35-foot deep well in Woburn.

One day as Cephas was passing the Cogan shoe mill in Stoneham, a worker in an upstairs window dumped a bucket of whitewash onto him. Furious, Cephas entered the mill and demanded to know who had done the dastardly deed. In the ensuing dust-up, the police were called and Cephas, not the perpetrator, was arrested.

In his later years, Cephas worked at the Navy shipyard in Charlestown. Leaving work one day, he was assaulted, and a few days later died of his injuries. He is buried in the Civil War section in Lindenwood Cemetery.

Despite the hardships, the prevalence of prejudice, African-American families found in Stoneham a good place to live. As we gather next Thursday evening at the Library to celebrate Black History Day, we will celebrate them and the rich contributions they have made in our town.

Note: Ben Jacques is the author of If the Shoe Fits: Stories of Stoneham Then & Now, available at the Book Oasis on Main Street in Stoneham.