Racial progress in Greenbelt, prejudices in American leadership and the necessity of empowering children through education were the focus of the Black History Month speech given Sunday by Dr. Alvin Thornton to a crowd of over 200 at the Community Center. Thornton, chair of the Prince George’s County Board of Education, has a rich history as an educator and advocate for public schools. He was a professor at Howard University, served on the Board of Education in the 1990s and chaired the Maryland Commission on Education, Finance, Equity and Excellence, often referred to as the Thornton Commission.
Growing up in Alabama, Thornton said he was aware of the obstacles his ancestors faced, and he encountered many of his own. Yet, he could laugh when remarking that he didn’t always wear a fancy suit or drive a nice car. “Because I’m standing here before you indicates the possibilities of our nation. That in one generation I can come from a father who lived with his once-enslaved grandmother and be the chairman of the school board of Prince George’s County.”
He urged the audience to not give up on this fight to achieve equality for all, drawing on Greenbelt’s roots to show how a system of separation and bigotry can turn into something beautiful. Greenbelt was built with the labor of African Americans who were denied the opportunity to live in the all-white community. “The Greenbelt concept, even though it was birthed in separateness and inequality, still had the potential to become what it’s becoming now.”
For more of this story see the February 21 News Review.