Eva Mackin -- Milford, CT
Eva Mackin is chairwoman of the Connecticut WFWP.
The Connecticut Women’s Federation for World Peace sponsored an interracial sisterhood ceremony at the Longfellow School in Bridgeport on Sat., March 6, 1999. Young girls from elementary to high school years volunteered for the ceremony, which was the first such event in Bridgeport for young girls. Twenty-six sisterhood couples from New Eden Academy, Bridgeport Hope School and the Longfellow School attended, and it was considered by all to be a great success.
The keynote speaker was Ann I., the principal of Bridgeport Hope School, who shared her experiences with an interracial marriage and the prejudices she and her husband have encountered. There was a videotape of a bridge-crossing ceremony, which inspired everyone.
The MC was Kathleen Burton, a professor at the University of Bridgeport. Mideya Wright gave a warm address on behalf of the predominantly black Longfellow School, and H. Gehring gave the address on behalf of New Eden and Bridgeport Hope.
After a wonderful bridge-crossing ceremony there were refreshments, and several of the new sisters went to New Eden Academy with their new friends for the afternoon. This was a great experience for everyone. The event required commitment and dedication from all the schools and the Connecticut Women’s Federation to make it possible.
"Beyond the dream a million voices join a million more in harmony, and walls fall down and mountains crumble, and we walk our many roads and we meet where we are free.
"Beyond the dream the world we hoped for is clothed in all the colors, only the truth can see
"And like the leaves that shade the table beneath our family tree, we are sisters and brothers beyond the dream." Mavis Staples, 1996