A display of courage
Billie Graham, left, and Martina Geuer stand in front of the display they put together for Black History Month at the Moses Lake Community Library. The display features quotes, poems and books by prominent African American Women throughout United States History.<br>Aimee Hornberger/Columbia Basin Herald
Local residents put together display for Black History Month
MOSES LAKE — Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Maya Angelou, all of whom are prominent African American women who fought for civil rights, have a special place in United States history that is being shared right here in Moses Lake.
At 418 E. Fifth Ave., the stories of these women and many others are being displayed as part of February's Black History Month.
Walking into the entrance of the Moses Lake Community Library, a quote by Rosa Parks, who is known for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus to a white man in the 1950s, reads: "Whatever my individual desires were to be free, I was not alone. There were many others who felt the same way."
To the right of that quote, part of a poem by Sojourner Truth, an African American woman born into slavery in the late 18th Century, entitled "Ain't I a Woman," reads:
Look at me
Look at my arm!
I have plowed and planted
and gathered into barns
and no man could head me. . .
And ain't I a woman?"
Such powerful words were inspiration to Martina Geuer and her friend Billie Graham, who were asked to do a display at the Moses Lake Community Library in celebration of Black History Month. The women said they wanted to emphasize the experience of African American women, who they say are sometimes forgotten for their remarkable achievements.
"The part that women played in history led people out of slavery," Graham said, emphasizing women's role as caregivers not only in the home, but on the battlefields of war.
"The women gave birth to change," Geuer said.
The message that both Geuer and Graham want their community to learn from the display is that being in the majority doesn't always make one's viewpoints and perspectives right.
"When the majority rules, you still stand up for what is right," Graham said.
"When they weren't in the majority, they still could speak the truth," Geuer said of those women represented in the display.
Remembering the accomplishments of women locally, such as Hazel Dozier, who have also impacted the community, is another reason why Graham and Geuer wanted to do a display.
Before moving to Oklahoma two years ago, Dozier, who used to teach in the Moses Lake School District, was credited with having put on a Black History Month display and program for several years.
"Her labor of love in the Moses Lake community has been greatly appreciated," Graham said.