t first blush, it seems somewhat
puzzling that Black
History Month would occur in the month following
the birthday of one of the great civil rights leaders, Martin Luther
King, Jr., rather than encompass it.
On further thought though,
having that birthday observance a few weeks prior may allow for a
collection of
thoughts about the subsequent month, while keeping the
importance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. observance undiluted by
other activities.
Having
not yet reached my teens at the time of the assassination of Dr. King
in 1968, I have only the vaguest of memories of the news footage of
the day and almost no first-hand memory of the death of President
Kennedy almost five years prior in 1963. Fortunately, the message of
these great men lives on through their published works. Though the "I
Have a Dream" speech is Dr. King's most famous and “I’ve Been to the
Mountain Top,” his last - there are many more with equally compelling
vision.
Certainly too, when speaking of Dr. King, one cannot help but
think of "Profiles
in Courage," by John F. Kennedy.
The books highlighted on this page represent the writings of a handful of figures, out of many more, important
to African-American history. As NJ activities for the next Black
History Month are made public we hope to add links below. In the
meantime, here are some other areas of interest:
