Ruth Johnson's Black History Month program at Alle-Kiski Valley Museum has been as much about what came after the program as what happened during it, her daughter said Sunday.

Johnson wanted to highlight black history but also to bring blacks and whites together to share experiences, said her daughter, Karen Moore, 54, of Harrison.

During the program, that would come from the variety of guest speakers she'd invite each year. When the formal program ended, it came from blacks and whites talking with and learning from each other.

"She wanted people to know there are a lot of things blacks have contributed to and been involved in," Moore said after this year's program, which was dedicated to her mother, who died in 2007.

About 60 people attended the Black History program at the Alle-Kiski Heritage Museum this year. Gary Link of Freeport, an author of three historical novels set in the Pittsburgh area during the mid-1800s, was guest speaker.

Link's latest novel, "The Throughway," involves the Underground Railroad in Pittsburgh and the Allegheny Valley. In his talk, Link described the journey a group of runaway slaves might have encountered on their way through the area to freedom in the North, including the black businessmen who would help them on their way through Pittsburgh.

The event is co-hosted by the museum, for which Johnson was a member of the board of directors, and Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Tarentum, where she was a member.

This year's program included a donation from the church to the museum of artwork featuring Richard Allen, founder and first bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

"We're not where we want to be, but we're not where we used to be," the Rev. JoElla Williams, pastor of Bethel A.M.E. Church, said in presenting the artwork. "We've come a long way, and together we can go even further."

Tarentum Mayor Carl Magnetta Jr. spoke of how the membership of Bethel A.M.E. helped him in his first election to borough council, when he was in his 20s. Now 71, Magnetta, who is white, recalled growing up in the borough and how easily youngsters of different races and nationalities blended together.

"We didn't know the difference between black and white. We played together; we drank from the same bottles of pop; we ate the same Popsicles; and we played from morning to night together," he said.

Exhibits of African culture were provided by Howard Clements, Midge Patrick and Larry Rowe.

Clements' display included masks and artifacts from South Africa, Zaire, Ghana and Kenya, including one he said was more than a century old. He said the masks showed the creativity of those who crafted them with their hands.

Moore said Loretta Howell of Harrison has picked up the ball once carried by her mother in continuing the program.

"It's a celebration of black history and an opportunity for all of us to get together. You don't have to be black to come to learn about the culture of African-Americans," Howell said. "It's an opportunity to do what I feel is God's work and that is introduce people to new things that they will enjoy and spread his love around."

Notable individuals and groups featured in displays during the Black History program at the Alle-Kiski Valley Museum included:

• Willie Thrower: Of New Kensington, the first African-American quarterback in the National Football League played for the Chicago Bears in 1953. He died in 2002.

• Tuskegee Airmen: The first African-American military aviators in the United States armed forces fought in World War II.

• Thurgood Marshall: The first African-American Supreme Court justice in 1967. Died in 1993.

• Louis Armstrong: Jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans. He was photographed by Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Eddie Adams of New Kensington. Died in 1971.

• Muhammad Ali: A retired boxer and three-time World Heavyweight Champion, considered one of the greatest heavyweight championship boxers of all time. Also photographed by Adams.

• Negro Baseball League: The Negro leagues were professional baseball leagues comprising teams made up mostly of African-Americans

Brian C. Rittmeyer is a Valley News Dispatch staff writer and can be reached at 724-226-4701 or via e-mail.