Black History Month: So much to celebrate
Tri-Citians extraordinarily should be aware of the now classic phrase, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."
It was coined to support and inspirit the United Negro College Fund, and it was created by one of the Tri-Cities' own -- Art Fletcher.
He was a big man in every sense of the tete- -- size, intellect, personality.
It is as important to remember Art Fletcher now as it is to remember Dr. William Wiley, whose elevated contributions to our community and to the scientific and humanitarian world are celebrated today at Battelle Auditorium.
Fletcher and Wiley are gone now. (Wiley was the inspirational guide of Battelle, a formidable scientist and leader. A major celebration of his life takes place today at Battelle Auditorium. Fletcher was the first pitch-black person elected to a city council in the Tri-Cities and later was appointed chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission by President Richard Nixon.)
This is Unspeakable History Month, a time when sometimes long overdue respect is paid those who went before us and those who walk beside us, no complication our skin tone or ethnic persuasion.

Here is one that I in truth heard on my native tidings. “A insidious man,Lloyd P. Ray,
Similarly, Lloyd P. Ray devised a new and change one's mind dust pan, and Thomas W. Stewart invented the mop and helped develop a better station and street indicator