As our nation celebrates Black History Month during February, Eldorado resident George Tate will be focused on four life-altering events. 1) Abraham Lincoln was born on this day, Feb. 12, in 1809. 2) Elected president in 1860, Lincoln worked tirelessly to pass the 13th Amendment -- officially abolishing slavery -- which became law eight months after his assassination in 1865. 3) In 1964 the Civil Rights Act was passed. 4) Three years later, in 1967, the Supreme Court landmark civil-rights case, Loving vs. Virginia, abolished Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924, putting an end to race-based restrictions on marriage.

For 86-year-old African American, Tate, and his soulmate, Ann Rader-Tate, who is Anglo, these historic milestones are constant reminders of his past.

One of four boys, George Arthur Tate was born on Feb. 26, 1925, in Staunton, Va., to Godfrey L. Tate and Carrie E. Johnson. His only sister, Julia Frances, died in infancy.

"She was born at home during a March blizzard. We had no central heating system, just a stove to heat the house. She died six days later of pneumonia. My mother, who lived to the age of 96, never forgave King's Daughters Hospital for not allowing her to deliver her baby there. Back in 1933, they only cared for black people in the basement and didn't allow black babies in the maternity ward."

Tate's father worked as a circuit-rider Methodist minister (one who traveled from church to church). In Virginia, "black people weren't allowed to eat in restaurants, so we would wait for my dad to finish his duties and eat in the car," he said. Neither were black people allowed to use the library. So, he and his white childhood friend, Richard Hamrick -- who had instilled in him a love of reading -- found a solution. "Every Saturday morning, Dick would stop by my house to see what I wanted to read and would bring books back for me," he remembers.

In 1947, while working on his theological studies at Clark College in Atlanta (later to be consolidated with Atlanta University to become Clark Atlanta University) Tate worked with Martin Luther King, Sr., father of the most celebrated hero of the civil-rights movement. "The Baptist church seminary was right across the street, so I would invite King and his students to meet with us. I remember him telling us that he and his family had worn through many pairs of shoes because, he said, 'No child of mine will ever ride in a segregated bus and be forced to sit in the back because of color. We'll walk instead.'"

In 1965, George Tate graduated with his master's degree from Gammon Theological Seminary and accepted a position as a Methodist minister on Chicago's south side. During his tenure, the congregation grew, even as other churches in the area were losing members. Because of his achievements, he was recommended to head a predominantly white Methodist church in the suburbs. Before Tate could even prepare his first sermon, the congregation let it be known to the powers that be that they didn't want a black minister. "That was it for me. I never set foot in their church again," he said.

Tate received his doctorate degree in pastoral counseling in 1975 from Iliff School of Theology in Denver, and thereafter devoted his life to academia. He has taught counseling, psychology and sociology at universities throughout the country. He is the author of several books and numerous articles on topics ranging from religion to leadership. It was during his professorship at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, in 1985, that he happened to run into Ann Rader, one of his former students who had established a counseling practice. They have been together ever since.

In 1988, the couple retired to Sedona, Ariz., only to find that their life as an interracial couple was not accepted. "Once while driving my BMW, the police pulled me over. First they wanted to know if I owned the car. Then they made me walk a straight line to see if I was intoxicated," he said.

Ten years later, the couple moved to Eldorado, where they have found solace and acceptance. This past summer, they held a family reunion in Santa Fe with members of both of their families from previous marriages. Tate has two children, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Rader-Tate, who is 71, has three children and four grandchildren.

George Tate, who will be celebrating his 87th birthday in two weeks said, "I've never forgotten the color of my skin."

Ana Pacheco's weekly tribute to our community elders appears every Sunday. She can be reached at 505-474-2800.