WWII African American families museum topic

The Clark County Historical Museum’s inaugural First Thursday event of the year — Deep Roots, Strong Branches — is a look at African American families who came to Vancouver during World War II and chose to stay.

The Feb. 5 program will feature performances by local students, using a script made from original interviews with descendants of those families.

It originated in a community project called First Families of Vancouver’s African American Community: From World War II to the Twenty-First Century. Jane Elder Wulff researched and wrote a book by that title in collaboration with the Vancouver branch of the NAACP, Clark College, YWCA Clark County and the museum. Copies of the book will be on sale.

The project has led to an ongoing effort to highlight the history and contributions of Vancouver’s African American community, including the annual Back In The Day Reunion and the Vanport Media Project.

“What this project shows is that after the war, in spite of pressure to make them leave, these young families stayed in Vancouver simply because they liked it and felt at home here,” Wulff said in a news release. “What’s more, they deliberately settled throughout the town and county, rather than all in one corner, to help build a broader community of good neighbors.”

Admission is $4, $3 for seniors, $2 for children younger than 18, and free with a museum membership. Doors open at 5 p.m.