The thunder of drumbeats filled the Civic Auditorium Saturday night, with audience members clapping along to the rhythms.

It was the eighth annual Black History Celebration, hosted by the City of Hanford and the Black History Committee. And it was complete with soul food, entertainment, a history lesson on the Underground Railroad and more than 200 local residents.

Just after attendees finished their fried chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas and potato salad, Judy Winston took the stage to speak on behalf of historical hero Harriet Tubman. Winston portrayed Tubman, both in describing leading slaves to freedom and how Tubman might have looked on Saturday's event.

Tubman was born into slavery in Maryland in the 1800s, escaped to Canada an d helped hundreds of other slaves escape via the Underground Railroad, the theme for the evening's events.

Winston said -- from Tubman's perspective -- that it was a "mighty fine sight for tired eyes" to see people of different races laughing and eating together.

The drummers followed Winston, their sticks moving so quickly they appeared just a blur. They took a few uniform steps back, allowing their accompanying dancers to step in and shake their hands and hips to the beats.

The drummers flipped their hands back and forth, hitting the drum with both edges of the sticks, and then swapped sticks in a drumline juggling move that earned a standing ovation.

The musicians were the Guardian Knights Drum and Bugle Corps, a group of about 20 8-to-18-year-olds from Sacramento. Ronald Norman sat with several of the younger drummers before the event began -- including some of his children and grandchildren -- and said he had felt the event important for the youngsters to attend because it is "part of our culture."

Keynote speaker Keegan-Michael Key, best known for his appearances on "MADtv" and as host of "The Planet's Funniest Animals" on Animal Planet, gave his address shortly after the drummers finished.

Key correlated the Underground Railroad to life now. He spoke about the "chain of friends" that didn't just pass slaves along to freedom, but the chain that each Hanford resident and each American is passed through today.

Charles Williams, the conductor of the celebration event, then presented the annual Wanda Williams-Hinton Public Service Award to Sandra Lacey-Hilton, Fred Wills and Alma Carter.

The evening was largely concentrated on history and included several speeches, a powerpoint presentation and a short film from The History Channel that ensured all attendees -- as one event organizer, John Lehn, had earlier promised it would -- left knowing more about the truth of the Underground Railroad than when they arrived.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2424.

(Feb. 24, 2008)