By Anthony Stanford –
Aurora’s First Fridays event May 4 brought the largest food truck festival in the city’s history to its burgeoning downtown. The event offered an array of entertainment, including art, music, and pop-up events.
At the Santori Public Library, the event had special significance because not only did the Santori Library of Aurora hold a celebration of the 109th birthday of the late civil rights icon Marie Wilkinson, but it unveiled an amazing collection of items belonging to the iconic community activist and civil rights champion.
An appreciative Aurora Public Library executive director, Daisy Porter-Reynolds, talked about the exhibit donated by the Wilkinson family: “The library is honored to house the Marie Wilkinson collection. She is so special to Aurora, and the family photographs, clothing, and personal effects that we’re displaying truly bring her to life and will ensure that her legacy lives on.”
Speaking to the first gathering of individuals to see the eclectic collection, Library Board president John Savage reminisced about his decades-ago encounter with the woman who would come to be known as The Mother of Aurora. Savage’s description of himself as a young mayoral assistant and his personal experience with Marie is something that many people whose paths she crossed can identify with. Like Savage, those who were fortunate to meet and work with Marie often describe her powerful sense of purpose and peaceful resolve.
Born in New Orleans, Marie arrived in Aurora in 1928. The collection that spans a lifetime features family photos, personal letters, attire, including the sensational hats she donned, a bible dating to the 1880s, and the Lumen Christi, the Catholic Church’s highest honor, for Marie’s missionary work in America.
Author Kathy Snow, who collected Marie’s memoirs in a book entitled “Gentle Spirit,” was on hand to discuss her experience in a chronicle of Marie’s lifelong work. Snow’s intimate knowledge and interaction with customers seemed to unfold a new chapter of what the exhibit and Marie’s life’s work mean to the community where she lived and worked for more than 80 years.
The life-size bronze statue that sits at the front entrance of the Santori Library, depicting Marie’s holding a boutique of flowers in one hand and a bullwhip in the other, is a conversation starter like no other. Marie inherited the bullwhip from a family member who was a former slave. The authentic one will be added to the exhibit.
Describing the significance of Marie’s arrival to Aurora in 1928 and about meeting her in the early 2000’s Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin said, “When you locked eyes with her you could see her strength, and gave thanks. We are what we are today because she came to Aurora in 1928.”
Anthony Stanford is an author and Aurora Public Library media consultant.