African American Social Group celebrates the holidays

Marie Milleage

In December the African American Social Group celebrated the holidays at the Classic Café in Roanoke. New neighbors, Lawanda and Jimmy Pettiford, were welcomed to Robson Ranch and talked about their move to Texas. Elinor Johnson, Paula Richardson and Barbara Spriggs, residents who moved to the ranch earlier, enjoyed their first holiday celebration with the group.

The majority of the group’s members moved to Texas from California, but we are seeing more residents relocating from other states: Ohio, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Illinois, New Mexico, Alaska and Oklahoma.

As this time of year is always special, the Social Group continued the practice of adopting a local Denton family that is dealing with difficult challenges. Martha Harrell identified a family in need and assisted them in planning an enjoyable holiday for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We are blessed to be able to reach out to others in our Denton community.

From December 26 to January 1 many black Americans will celebrate Kwanzaa, a holiday with roots in east Africa and founded in 1965 by Maulana Karenga. Kwanzaa celebrates the seven principles of African heritage, a philosophy of the Africa community. Each day of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of its principles: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity) and Imani (faith).

The African American social group invites all black residents to join with us as we meet to welcome new homeowners and to enjoy dinner, fellowship, conversation and outside activities. Only one member of the family needs to be black. We hold gatherings at a resident’s home, in a restaurant or at another venue. We are not a club, religious or political organization, and do not charge fees. For additional information about joining us, please contact Marie Milleage at [email protected].