Party with a purpose.
That, Kabir Karriem said, has been the theme for Seventh Avenue Heritage Festival during its 32-year history.
The city councilman and festival organizer said one of the primary purposes for the event’s 33rd installment, which begins this afternoon at Seventh Avenue and 15th Street North, is to unveil a memorial bench for late Columbus resident Col. Alva Temple, who logged more than 5,000 miles and flew more than 120 missions in World War II as a pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen.
In doing so, Col. Roosevelt Lewis, renowned historian of the Tuskegee Airmen, is scheduled to speak Saturday and will participate in the ceremony.
The Tuskeegee Airmen were a group of black men who were part of an Army Air Corps segregated training program. He was one of only 996 of his peers to become pilots in the program and one of only less than half that number to fly overseas.
Temple’s fighter crew won the first ever Air Force weapons meet competition in 1949. It wasn’t recognized as the winner until 1995.
Temple moved to Columbus in the mid-1960s, opened a shop and fixed radiators. He’s hailed locally as a community hero and an advocate for education and local businesses. He died in 2004 at the age of 86.
“Mr. Temple made a commitment to this nation,” Karriem said. “He was a humble man.”
This year’s headlining musical act, which is scheduled for Saturday, is Rome, an R&B singer known for singles such as “I Belong to You (Everytime I See Your Face).” Also performing will be Georgia-based Klass Band, a Southern Soul group.
Karriem said the event is always a celebration of Seventh Avenue as one of the only two predominately black, thriving commercial business districts during times when segregation reigned and the landmarks serving as a reminder of that time, such as the Queen Hotel.
“We pride ourselves on really good entertainment and carrying on the tradition of Seventh Avenue,” Karriem said. “We’re expecting a big crowd.”
The festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. today.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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