Chris Snell

and the Fayette County Public Library have been presenting a Blended Heritage

Celebration for the past four years. The event features performances and

presentations from people of many different cultures and has grown in

size and popularity from one year to the next.

But last year

Snell and the library caught heat from some citizens and members of the

NAACP because the event occurs during Black History Month and though the

African-American culture is represented at the event, it is not the only

culture represented.

"I think

I am living the dream of Martin Luther King," said Snell. "It

was his wish that one day people be judged not by the color of their skin

but by the content of their character. Blended Heritage celebrates everybody.

It brings people together so everyone can learn about everyone else."

Snell grew

up on a farm in Jackson, Miss., during a time where much of the country

was still divided by race. Despite the racial tensions, one of her family's

closest friends was a white woman the children knew as Aunt Brucie.

"All of

the local kids called her that," explained Snell, who recalled days

of eating tea cakes and talking with her adopted aunt. Their friendship

lasted a lifetime and to this day Snell can't go