THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 3, 1995 TAG: 9503020166
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Michael Lee is 39, an African-American who grew up in Ohio.
Lee and his family moved to Virginia Beach in 1985, and shortly thereafter, curious to find out about his ethnic heritage, he began reading about African culture.
``When I went to school, they didn't teach anything about blacks, except about slavery in America,'' said Lee.
He has tried to address that cultural void, not only by studying his ancestral continent but by educating his daughters, also.
Samantha and December Lee joined their father last Saturday, at the fourth annual African-American Vendors Day at the Seatack Community Center. They sat at a table filled with what Lee called an African Awareness Display - indigenous jewelry, figurines, books and ceremonial masks imported from West Africa.
Michael Lee held up a piece of silver jewelry.
``This is an original African cross,'' he said. ``It represents universal and eternal life.''
Lee was one of a half-dozen vendors who exhibited native African artifacts at the day-long festival. About 250 people attended, said Bernadean Woodhouse, a supervisor at the community center who coordinated the event.
``To be a small facility, we did really well, I think,'' she said. ``Everybody made some money and the people who came learned something about African-American culture.''
Vendors paid a fee for the space they used to sell T-shirts, body oils, art and other items. That money went into the city coffers, Woodhouse said. The city plans to add about 40,000 square feet, including a pool and a gymnasium, to the center in 1996.
Lee had a ``pretty good day,'' he said, selling many of his items and talking to many of the festival attendees about African-American heritage.
Farm Fresh provided a table with coffee and refreshments and Sentara Family Care also participated.
Samantha Lee, 15, is a ninth-grader at Bayside High School. December is a 10-year-old fifth-grader at Louise Luxford Elementary School. Michael and his wife, Regina, have a 13-year-old daughter, Shamotta, an eighth-grader at Bayside Middle School.
The Lees maintain a library of books about African culture, history and biographies in their home. But Michael Lee said he doesn't understand the rift between factions who want to stress one culture to the exclusion of others.
``I respect all religions and cultures,'' he said. ``Actually, I believe in teaching everybody's history and letting people decide for themselves what they want to follow.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by
GARY EDWARDS
Michael Lee and daughters Samantha, left, and December sit at a
table filled with what Lee called an African Awareness Display -
indigenous jewelry, figurines, books and ceremonial masks imported
from West Africa.
by CNB