Submitted

KANNAPOLIS — The Kannapolis African-American Museum and Cultural Center celebrated its 10th anniversary at the Laureate Center in downtown Kannapolis. 

More than 150 guests enjoyed an evening of fellowship, tributes, food and especially remembrances of a decade of programs and events sponsored by the organization. 

Ten years have passed since the organization began its mission “to collect and preserve the history and culture of African Americans in Cabarrus and Rowan County, North Carolina, and to serve, engage, and enrich communities through diverse activities that enhance the quality of life in a cultural center setting.” 

The evening also included the 2023 Hall of Fame Inductions of native Cabarrus and Rowan County  individuals who have excelled in their roles with “honor, recognition, distinction and excellence — locally or beyond.” 

Among the inductees were executive religious leaders, the late Bishop Richard Keith Thompson (represented by Georgia M. Thompson) and the late Bishop Louis Hunter Sr. (represented by the Rev. Louis Hunter Jr.); Kenneth B. Geathers Sr., social and political advocate; Dr. Norma H. Sermon-Boyd, retired educator and civic leader; Judge Jerry W. Blackwell, change maker for peace and justice; the late Charles A. Cannon (represented by Robert ‘Robin’ C. Hayes); and the late James W. Donaldson (represented by Dr. Yvonne A. Tracey), local artist, painter and expressionist. 

The keynote speaker for the occasion was Dr. Willie A. Deese, himself a 2022 inductee into the organization’s Hall of Fame and retired president of the Merck Manufacturing Division and corporate board of directors. 

Deese began by saying that at the 2022 anniversary celebration, he made a commitment to KAA-MaCC and is honoring that commitment with a financial contribution in excess of $25,000 as the organization inaugurates its Vision 2026 Initiative. 

Continuing, he congratulated the organization on documenting, interpreting and presenting local history and culture in the last ten years. 

Asking permission to speak in the plural rather than in the singular, he went on to say, “At the heart of our vision is a commitment to serve, engage and enrich the community and to build a state of the arts museum and cultural center that will be the hub of excellence, offering the highest quality of experience and upholding the highest ethical standards.”

He continued, “(The museum and center) is here to inspire, to educate, and to enrich communities through diverse activities, fostering a life-long love of learning. We aim to claim a genuine bond between our institution and the public.” 

Pointing out that the organization’s goals are ambitious, he assured the audience that “its dreams will be realized if we all have the faith of a mustard seed faith and turn that faith into a driving vision of reality.” Diversity, he concluded, “is the heart of everything.” 

The mistress of ceremony for the occasion was Ariel Janel Lipscomb, the morning anchor at WTOC11 in Savannah, Georgia, and a Kannapolis native and graduate of A.L. Brown High School.