The origin of Black History Month
According to the History Channel Web site, Harvard scholar Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who was determined to bring Black History into the mainstream public arena, organized the first annual Negro History Week in 1926. Woodson chose this date to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Over time, Negro History Week evolved into the Black History Month that we know today.
One of the highlights of this year will be a photo exhibit at the Hoboken Public Library at Fifth Street and Park Avenue featuring extremely rare photos of Martin Luther King Jr. and his family, including pictures of King and his wife Coretta Scott King, who, after her husband's assassination, continued to promote the vision of racial peace and non-violent social change.
Coretta Scott King died Tuesday morning at Santa Monica Hospital, in Baja California, Mexico, near San Diego. She was 78.
Local photographer photographed him
Hoboken photographer Benedict J. Fernandez Jr., who was King's personal photographer in the mid-1960s, before the Civil Rights leader was assassinated, donated 12 of his photographs of King to the permanent collection at the Hoboken Public Library. The King photos will be on display on the second floor of the library during for the entire month.
Fernandez became closely acquainted with King's family and was given a tremendous amount of access. One of the most famous photographs ever taken of King was on April 15, 1967 outside the United Nations. According to Fernandez, King was about to give a critical speech where he was going withdraw his support for President Lyndon Baines Johnson.
Other photographs of King include him in his home with his wife, in front of a portrait of Gandhi; and King marching against the Vietnam War. There are also potent photographs of the crowd outside the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis just after King's assassination, as well as at his funeral.
Other events
Other events include:
The entire month - City Hall Black History exhibition overseen by Minster Shirley Cummins, Trish Alexander, Sandra Chapman and Evelyn Smith. Located inside City Hall.
* The entire month - Exhibition of books by African American writers and poets at the Hoboken public library.
* Sat. Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. - The Hoboken Public Library at Fifth Street and Park Avenue will present American Dance from Africa to Broadway, featuring The Okra Dance Company on Sat. Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. at the library. The event is recommended for children ages 3 and up. The dancers will perform tribal dances from Africa, social dances from around the world, American tap dance, and Broadway dances from today.
Sat. Feb. 4 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. - An exhibit recalling Hoboken's Black History honors Hoboken residents who served in the military, who have owned businesses, or who were the first to break the color barrier in various areas in the city of Hoboken. The exhibit will be held at the Mount Olive Baptist Church at 721 Washington St. Also, there will be a screening of A Raisin in the Sun, which stars Claudia McNeil, Sydney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Diane Sands, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
* Sat. Feb 11 at 1 p.m. - Richard Hicks Black Youth Empowerment Luncheon at the Boys and Girls Club at 117 Jefferson St. The event is co-sponsored by the Mile Square Civic Association and is free.
* Sat. Feb. 11 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. - An exhibit at the Mount Olive Baptist Church titled "National Black Historic Figures," which honors the many Black Americans who have appeared on U.S. postage stamps; once mounted, the exhibit will remain on display until the end of the month. Also that night at the church, there will be a film screening of Native Son starring Richard Wright from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
* Sat. Feb 16 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. - An exhibit at Mt. Olive Baptist Church that chronicles the church's founding and the growth in the community. Later that afternoon from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., there will be a film screening of Cabin in the Sky tarring Ethel Waters, Lena Horne and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson.
* Sat. Feb 25 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. - An exhibit at the Mt. Olive Baptist Church titled "We love you, we miss you," which honors the locally and nationally known African Americans who died in 2005.
* Later that afternoon at the church from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. will be a film screening of Imitation of Life, the 1934 classic starring Claudette Colbert, Louise Beaver, Freddie Washington, and the 1959 remake starring Lana Turner and John Garvin.
* Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m. - WINN production of Harriet Tubman, The Black Moses, at 6:30 p.m. at the Loews Theater in Jersey City.
* March 17 at 7 p.m. - WINN production of Harriet Tubman, The Black Moses, at Hoboken City Hall.
* April 7, 8 and 9 - Hoboken High School Drama Club presents A Raisin in the Sun at the Hoboken High School Auditorium.
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