Reunion Celebrates the Black Family and Offers Some Support

For many, the second annual Black Family Reunion at Exposition Park was a chance to socialize with other black people, but for 18-year-old Jennifer Hamilton, it was an opportunity to learn about scholarships, meet role models and gain the confidence to apply to Spelman College in the spring.

Hamilton, who lives in Perris, Calif., and is considering a career in engineering, communications or journalism, was one of about 5,000 people who attended the three-day event that ends with a sunrise ecumenical service today.

“I got a chance to see role models who are willing to help kids achieve their dreams,” said Hamilton, currently enrolled Riverside College.

Seminars, Handouts

Jennifer’s mother, Annie, enthusiastic to learn of options for financing her daughter’s education, said she valued the event that offered seminars and handouts on everything from family values to health care.

“This is what our children need to learn,” Annie Hamilton said, “that there are people willing to help them.”

Sponsored by the National Council of Negro Women, the Los Angeles reunion was the 10th given by the organization in the United States since the program was established by council President Dorothy Height in 1986. Height started the reunions as a response to growing concern about the disintegration of the black family.

The reunions, which celebrate “the history, tradition and culture of the black family,” are an effort to combat negative images of blacks by showing the positive aspects of a community battling high unemployment, teen pregnancy, drug abuse and other problems.

In a keynote speech Friday morning, Barbara Solomon, dean of graduate education at USC, told an audience of nearly 100 that black youths are not receiving the affection, education and support they need to become effective human beings.

Solomon reminisced about tightly knit black communities and group activities that, she said, foster values and pride. Volunteers from the 53-year-old organization worked to put together the event that had a budget of $200,000, one-fourth of which was allocated by the city of Los Angeles. The event also featured live music, dancing and a sampling of dishes from the West Indies, Africa and elsewhere.