‘I am recommending that the Black History Month Celebration for the Town of Dumfries event for 2017 be canceled’

DUMFRIES, Va. — The Town of Dumfries annual Black History Month celebration may be canceled.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (Fairfax, Prince William), Prince William County School Board member Lillie Jessie, and Dumfries Elementary School Principal Marlene Coleman were invited to speak at the event. None have accepted the invitation to speak.

Mayor and Acting Town Manager Jerry Foreman in an email to fellow council members and town staff states he recommends canceling the event.

“I am recommending that the Black History Month Celebration for the Town of Dumfries event for 2017 be canceled,” the email states.

“Dignitaries can be notified, however, we are having a concern with committing to a guest speaker. All persons identified have previous engagements,” states the email.

“The Dumfries Chorus has a previous event and cannot commit…Entertainment appears to be a logistics lift.”

Foreman plans to discuss the event at the next Town Council meeting on February 7, 11 days before the February 18 event.

Connolly has attended the event before but has not committed to attending this year’s festival, according to his spokesman.

This is second annual town event to be canceled in the past year, following the cancellation of the annual town fall festival.

The theme of this year’s Black History Month gathering was to be “crisis in black education.” The event was going to be moved from Little Union Baptist Church, just outside town limits, to Dumfries Elementary School.

“As a member of Little Union Baptist Church, we want to thank the town for allowing them to hold the event at church for at least eight years,” said Councilmember Gwen Washington.

Town officials wanted to change the location of the event by moving it inside the town limits.