Ghana RPCV Patricia Skrtic donates African outfits, jewelry, wood carvings to Black Heritage Museum
Park, museum home to Juneteenth
By MELANIE STAWICKI AZAM
Staff Writer
Last update: 17 June 2004
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Many blacks celebrate their independence in both June and July.
America threw off British rule on July 4, 1776, but most black Americans had to wait much longer for a taste of freedom. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union troops landed in Galveston to announce the Civil War was over and all slaves were freed.
Juneteenth is a time when blacks across the country recall their freedom from slavery and celebrate with food, family and fun.
New Smyrna Beach residents will celebrate Saturday's event from 2 until 5 p.m. with food, games, music and local history at Pettis Park and the Black Heritage Museum on Duss Street.
Earlier in the day, educational displays and presentations will be at the Babe James Center. This year, the displays will focus on music, she said, showcasing legend Ray Charles, who died last week.
This is the fourth year for the event, organizer Mary Harrell said.
Besides getting friends together for a good time, said the holiday is an occasion to share black history with younger generations.
"The black adults lived through this stuff," she said. "That same old thing, you've got to know where you've been before you know where you're going."
The Juneteenth celebration is being held in conjunction with a glass and jewelry show at the Black Heritage Museum. The display opened earlier this month and will run through July.
Many of the show's items were donated by members of the community. Some are antiques and other herald from Africa.
New Smyrna Beach resident Patricia Skrtic gave the museum many pieces from her family's time living in Africa. There are African outfits, jewelry, wood carvings and other objects.
"Most of the jewelry is from Ghana," she said.
Along with her family, she served in the Peace Corps in Ghana about 25 years ago, she said. One of the most special items she donated are ancient trader beads, which Venetian merchants used to give to Africans in exchange for gold and ivory. People in many villages there still possess such beads, she said.
"A lot were given to me by African friends," Skrtic said.
Years later, one of Skrtic's sons joined the Peace Corps as an adult and was sent to Botswana. He sent back some jewelry and wood carvings and Skrtic also donated those items to the Black Heritage Museum. One of the pieces has beads made of ostrich quills from the Kalahari Bushmen, she said.
The museum, which is managed by Harrell, will be open throughout the Juneteenth festivities.
melanie.stawicki@news-jrnl.com
