To The Daily: I wanted to comment on the Rock Center with Brian Williams show that aired on Sept. 13 and featured a family from Decatur.

After several segments of the show, Williams announced the next segment was coming from Decatur. I couldn't imagine what it could be, as these journalists sometimes put us in a bad light, but he announced that family reunions are common in African-American families and they were going to feature the Matthews family. Sara Matthews Bradley told how her family gets together every two years for a reunion, and this year, they wanted to come to Decatur as this is where their roots are.

These reunions started in 1975 and this year, about 200 family members came together. The relatives who were interviewed were delightful, and talked of how happy they were to see each other, some traveling many miles, and one on a Greyhound bus.

The children they interviewed were precious, and one little girl told how she was dreading the trip home because it was too hot, too far, etc., but once she connected with her cousins, it was awesome. The children were playing in the water sprinkler, dancing for relatives and having the time of their lives. You could even see the rose garden, water tower and pavilions of Delano Park in the background.

Kudos to Sara Matthews Bradley for her insight into this reunions. She made Decatur proud to have such a special family represented on national television.

Jo Nelson

Decatur