EUSTIS, Florida— Twenty-eight years ago, three Eustis women, inspired by a tragic event in 1993, created an event to bring their community together, and now nearly three decades later, it is still going strong.
The Eustis African-American Heritage Celebration, scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday began in 1995 as UNITY—United Neighbors In Touch with the Youth, founded by Vivian “Carla” Mitchell, Patricia Wright and Kimberly Kelly Cameron in the wake of the tragic kidnappings and shootings of Dorothy Lewis and her daughters, Jamilya, 7 and Jasmine, 3. Dorothy survived her horrific injuries, the two sisters did not.
The tragic event shook the community to its core, Mitchell, who serves as president, told Inside Lake last week. “Our whole world stood still. The leaves weren’t even blowing on the trees. The community just stood still; we were in a state of shock.”
“We didn’t know what to do, we were trying to make sense of it. We leaned on our faith, our pastors and each other,” she said.
The trio of ladies came together and formed UNITY which included a parade down Bates Avenue and ended with a festival, celebrating the achievements of African-American residents of Eustis and nearly 30 years later, the core values and core events of the celebration are still in place today. In 1995, the celebration committee members began holding a banquet to commemorate the honorees and provide youth with the opportunity to attend a banquet. The youth ticket comes at a price, however, Mitchell said. Each child who wanted to attend the banquet is required to attend an etiquette class at Mitchell’s home.
“It was mandatory,” Mitchell said. The children learned which utensils to use, how to properly use a napkin, butter their bread and they boys leaned how to pull out chairs for the girls, Mitchell explained.
Mitchell, who has lived all of her 78 years in Eustis, still carries the inspiring words her great-grandmother gave to her many years ago, “Be Strong, be educated and be a part of the decision-making process. I try to live up to that,” she said.
Last year, the entire celebration was canceled due to the pandemic and this year, organizers thought it was best to cancel the banquet, but are proceeding with the parade and festival.
This year’s event will begin with the parade, starting at Bates Avenue and Prescott Street and continuing down Bates Avenue to the Eustis High Curtwright Campus. The festival will follow and will include entertainment, food, arts and crafts and children’s activities.
