The theme of this year’s Black History Month is “African Americans and Labor.”

Beyond the proclamations made by elected officials, people need to remember Yolo County was founded in part by slaves freed after the Civil War. This year’s theme reflects what took place more than 100 years ago in the Capay Valley.

A dramatic viewing of the artistic heritage of those in the Black community can be seen at various Yolo County libraries, which are hosting a series of quilted tapestries done mainly by Khristel Johnson. I happened to be at the Yolo County Administration Building on Court Street when several of tapestries were being hung and they are breathtaking in their historical relevance and messaging.

There isn’t a panel among the quilts that I looked at that doesn’t contain a message of inspiration or sorrow. Many hours of labor went into their creation.

I couldn’t find any recent references to the Black History and Multicultural Heritage Celebration in Guinda, and it’s possible that, like some events, once the founders passed on, it simply ceased. I last attended the 19th Annual Celebration in 2020.

My most distinct memories are of Clarence Van Hook, wearing his cowboy hat and bolo tie, singing on his guitar; and Bill Petty, sitting in his wheelchair and grousing about life in general. I liked them both. Clarence for his upbeat optimism and Bill for speaking his mind.

Bill died in early December 2016 at age 92 at his home in Woodland. I believe Clarence has died as well, but can’t find any reference to his passing. Clarence came to the Capay Valley in 2000 and bought the Ribbs Ranch from the family of William Ribbs Jr., who was the first Black man to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and one of only a few Black NASCAR racers.

One of the best sources of information on how Blacks settled the Capay Valley was done by Elizabeth Monroe, a teacher and graduate of UC Davis — and a fifth-generation native of the Capay Valley. Her book “The History of Stories of the Capay Valley” recounted how Black families started arriving in the late 1800s.

I think Monroe was responsible for a lot of historical information on a website that has now been taken down. According to the site, “Black families moved to the hills above the Capay Valley in the 1890s to homestead. Green Berry Logan was the first and most prominent black homesteader to arrive. He brought his family from Dunnigan. There was musician/barber Charles Simpson who moved here with his wife and daughter. There were other black families, too.”

Historical information also indicates that George Hayes, one of the white homesteaders in the region said the “reason Blacks congregated in the hills” was to grow crops in the fertile Capay Valley that lay below them. But that land was already spoken for by white homesteaders.”

“There was nothing they could afford in the valley, so they went to the hills,” Hayes is reported to have said. “They didn’t have whites telling them what to do up in the hills. But the white people who lived up there were just as poor as the Black people. They didn’t have nothing but their hands to work with.”

In brief, people — both Black and white — labored to build the Capay Valley and Yolo County as a whole, a fact that we are stronger when we work together than when we work alone.

And we shouldn’t have to be reminded about the contributions of our Black neighbors just one month out of the year.

Jim Smith is the former editor of The Daily Democrat, retiring in 2021 after a 27-year career at the paper.