Efforts continue to be made towards diversity and inclusion in Dripping Springs and surrounding Hays County. Most recently, the Hays County Commissioners Court declared February 2022 as Black History Month in Hays County.
Black History Month was first started as Black History Week by Carter G. Woodson in 1926 to celebrate Black heritage and history. The celebration was recognized nationally by President Gerald R. Ford in 1975, and it was expanded to Black History Month the following year. Since then, every American president has designated February as Black History Month. Locally, cities and counties have begun to make similar proclamations, as seen with the Hays County Commissioners Court at their meeting on Tuesday Feb. 1.
The proclamation was not the first in Hays County, which had first proclaimed February as Black History Month in 2021. Last year was also the first (and only) Black History Month proclamation for the city of Dripping Springs.
“We just invite the community to celebrate Black history because Black history is American history,” said Pastor Jonafa Banbury, secretary for the Dunbar Heritage Association. “The common narratives and the occurrences and experiences of African American people are those that ran concurrently with the things that we know about history that we learn in the textbooks in schools so it’s information that we want to share. We want to share our culture, our history and our traditions with the entire community.”
Both Hays County and Dripping Springs remain predominantly white communities, according to the 2020 census. However, groups such as Dripping Springs Community - Empowering Positive Change have sprung up within the last couple years, encouraging proclamations for various cultural and environmental celebrations.
DSCEP has helped city of Dripping Springs released proclamations for Black History Month (Feb. 2021), Pride Month (June 2021), Juneteenth (June 19, 2021), Latin American Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15–Oct. 15, 2021) and Indigenous Peoples’ Day (October 11, 2021).
“We, unfortunately, dropped the ball on a 2022 [Black History Month] proclamation, but we are working on an Earth Day one for April,” said Mia Marie Hernandez, administrator of the DSCEP Facebook group. However, the group is in the process of preparing a reading and viewing list for the month, with events and livestreams discussing Black heritage and culture.
Additional Black History Month events have been organized throughout the county. The city of Buda is hosting a “Teaching Black History to White People” book lecture and signing on Feb. 12 and a Black History Celebration on Feb. 19. The Dripping Springs Community Library is hosting a talk on African American Builders in Early Austin and Central Texas on Feb. 23, and San Marcos’ Dunbar Heritage Association is hosting “Soul Praise,” an exploration of African American hymns and spirituals, on Feb. 27. The city of Kyle will also be hosting a “Dialogue for Peace and Progress” at some point in the month; the original date was postponed due to weather conditions.
