SCOTLAND, Md. — Maryland's historic Scotland community is celebrating history with its Juneteenth Heritage Festival. As part of the festivities, Georgetown University basketball great Eric Smith held a basketball clinic for kids at Cabin John Middle School.
The kids did drills under Smith's watchful eye. Smith played for the Hoyas in the early '80s. Now he is serving as a point guard for history.
"We've been through struggle and we've always come out on the upside. Coming up I never wanted for anything, I never realized we were poor because that's all we knew. But it was great. We had family, we had love and that's all we needed," Smith said.
Churchill head basketball coach David Blumenthal said Smith's outlook is helping a younger generation practice gratitude.
"He's able to come back and have them remember the history, and say 'Hey, remember to be grateful for everything that this community has been able to give us and will continue to give us," he said.
A bunch of Smith's Hoya teammates showed up to support the effort. Including one very familiar face. None other than the hall-of-famer Patric Ewing.
"He called and we showed up," Ewing said. "It's all about giving back, giving back to the people of this area. It's for a great cause."
That cause is to build the Scotland community back up. It's a community that is rich in its own history. The message is clear.
"Scotland is still surviving and thriving. That's what June 19 is. June 19 is a day of celebration, but it's also a day of educating," said LaTisha Gasaway-Paul, the chairman of Scotland's Juneteenth Heritage Festival.
For Smith and his teammates, it's a labor of love.
RELATED: Swindled out of their land, but still standing: Maryland's Scotland community is rich with history
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