"Connecting the past to the present... and beyond."
The 20th Langston Alumni Reunion Celebration held its biggest event Saturday night, July 5, 2014. A packed ballroom at the Doubletree Hotel in Johnson City, buzzed with activity. Everything from picture-taking to good food, complimented the wonderful fellowship of former classmates, remembering what made Langston High School so special.
Always on the minds of the attendees.. the 58 former Langston classmates who have passed on, since the last reunion in 2012.
"I think the number of passings is what really sparked interest in people attending this particular reunion," says Barbara (Bobbie) Watterson, president of the Langston reunion committee. "I think their feeling is, 'if we don't catch the ring now, it's gonna be too late.' The older ones are passing on, and at the rate we're losing them, everybody is getting worried."
"And rightfully so."
"Our struggles through the years were anchored by our religious background," says Ellis. "From before the Civil War, and beyond, past the turn of the century, into the Civil Rights movement, and well into the 21st century, African-American heritage is rooted in the church. Our faith in God is the only thing that got us through the tough times, and motivates us into the future."
Her character, dressed up as a 'mother of the church' is symbolic of the reverence held by African-American culture. Her performance received its fair share of "amen's" and "say it, sister's."
"I pour my heart out through the character," she says. "When I'm dressed up with the dress and the glasses and the cane, my attitude completely changes. I become that church lady. We've all known somebody like that. I can say what I want to say, I can sing what I want to sing, and people identify with that. When you start out with a song like 'Amazing Grace,' you know it comes from the soul. It stirs up a lot of emotion in people, and they don't know it.. but it stirs up a lot of passion in me, too."
"We've got to keep telling them that the struggle is not over," she says. "We've got to keep reminding them. It's difficult reminding them of things that happened down through the years to get us where we are. Our people are not where we need to be yet, and this generation will have to shoulder the burden of getting us there."
Mrs. Watterson agrees.
"If we don't at least keep our school spirit alive," she says, "our children and their children will never know their heritage. They'll never know that there was an all-black high school in Johnson City.. why was it separate from the white school? They'll never know the answer unless we remind them."
Mrs. Watterson says, members of the Class of '64 were among the 80 to 90 alumni registered for the reunion. She says, the reunion committee had to give the hotel a certain number of visitors to plan for food, but she says, alumni were registering right up until the last minute.
"We hope we can keep this momentum going," says Watterson says. "We elated that so many alumni thought enough of their heritage, to come and reminisce with their former classmates. Hopefully, we'll all be able to return in a couple of years, and do it all over again."
Afterwards, former classmates left to continue living the school motto they all remember from their Langston days:
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