I have been working on a story for the past month on Allensworth, a city established in 1908 entirely by African Americans. The county has approved the establishment of two dairies within two miles of the city, which has been abandoned and re-created as a state park. If you know anything about dairies, you should know this: They stick. If a dairy sets up less than a mile from the park, whatever visitors do come to the park may have a very unpleasant time. Many African Americans feel that the county's rubber stamp on the new dairies is just another attempt to wipe away a hallmark of Black History and they have lobbied quite successfully politicians in Sacramento that are passing a bill to establish a buffer zone around the park.

I've been to the park four times in the past month. The last time I went was on June 23, for their Juneteenth celebration. I had to abandon any plans I had to attend Gay Pride in San Francisco for it. Somehow, it didn't really matter to me. The excitement and life of the park was thrilling. As a journalist, it felt wonderful to be a part of something under normal circumstances I would observe as an outsider. Everyone was very gracious and kind to me and I was happy to see the park with so much life again.

Today I finished the second, larger video on the park. It seeks to explain, in the words of African Americans, why the park deserves to be protected by the state. I think it's very good and I thought I should share.

P.S.: I am the multimedia reporter now at the Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register and I produce a fair amount of videos. You can see them at www.VisaliaTimesDelta.com/Video.