Name/Title
Washington, Ramadhan and HelenEntry/Object ID
9999.BHF.221Scope and Content
Washington, Ramadhan and Helen
The history of Helen and Ramadan Washington is typed on a 8½ by 11 sheet of paper. Helen was born on January 6, 1948 and reared in St. Joseph. She is a graduate of Benton High school. She focused on children and social services. She worked with numerous programs. She She oversees the Latchkey Program at Oak Ridge Complex. She served on the committee to develop the exhibits at the Black Archives Museum and organized groups of students each year to take part in the Kwanza Celebration at the museum.
Ramadhan Washington was born January 7, 1948 in St. Joseph. He attended Lafayette High School and later earned a G.E.D. He has promoted programs to develop pride in the Black culture. His projects include: the Community Forum in the Mid-town area. He served on the Weed and Seed Committee (Neighborhood Partnership and Revitalization sponsored by the Department of Justice) and served on the St. Joseph 2000 Health Task Force among many more committies. One of his most enjoyable projects is the development of the Juneteenth Celebration in St. Joseph. He also promotes other social affairs as well as celebration of Black History Month.
In 2005, the Washington's have been married for 30 years.
There are handwritten notes about Ramadhan on yellow paper.
St. Joseph News-Press February 25, 2004 is an article about Helen and Ramadhan Washington being inducted into the Black Achieves of St. Joseph's Hall of Fame. Their pictures are on the front page of that newspaper.
St. Joseph News-Press May 14, 2003 Ramadhan remembers the black church picnic of long ago. He remembers plates and bowls of food, sitting on newspaper-covered, wooden, green picnic tables. He recalls seeing mothers trying to hold new babies and plates of food . The men played dominoes, cards and a game called "the dozens" in which everyone's mother became a punch line. Girls had new dresses and boys with fresh haircuts. Everyone who has been at a black church picnic probably relives the same dreams. Although they were not called Juneteenth celebrations, he believes that is what they were about. Juneteenth is good for the soul. It is like healing. People come out and see people they haven't seen for a while. It is a learning process, a cultural mix that teaches tolerance of others. It is the African-American lifestyle on display. The 18th Juneteenth will be held June 13-15 at the East Side Human Resource Center and John Lucas Park, The events include a baby contest, health fair, fashion show, a parade and various other forms of entertainment. He added that a big misconception has been that it is an exclusively black celebration, Every year more people from different races and cultural backgrounds take part in the celebration that commemorates June 19, 1865, the day when slaves in Galveston, Texas learned of their freedom. This story was in Alonzo Weston's column.Lexicon
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Black History, Muslims, Black Churches, Black Archives Hall of FameRelationships
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