COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (WTVA) -- Columbus Air Force Base hosted a black history festival Tuesday.
Members of the community and base personnel attended the program at the Columbus Club.
The festival served as a reminder of what so many endured before and during the civil rights era and looked to what African-Americans will accomplish in the future.
"Black History Month began as Negro History Week when racial tension did not allow for us to celebrate or for us to recognize the accomplishments of black Americans," said United States Air Force Staff Sergeant Markita Smith. "Today, we are trying to meld that into American history."
Two pivotal events in African-American history, the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington, are celebrating their 150th and 50th anniversaries respectively.
