Music, arts and food will highlight the Lawrence Township Public Schools’ annual Black History Month celebration and also honor four “trailblazers” at the Feb. 22 event.
The event, which is free, runs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Lawrence High School at 2525 Princeton Pike.
The celebration, which is sponsored by the Lawrence Township Education Association, begins in the hallway outside the auditorium. Visitors can view and buy an assortment of items from more than 20 Black business owners.
At 3:30 p.m., visitors will be treated to a taste of cultural dishes featuring Southern soul food, Caribbean and African dishes.
At 5 p.m., the celebration moves into the auditorium. The keynote speaker is Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka.
The program moves on to feature musical and choral performances by the Lawrence High School Madrigal, the Lawrence High School ensemble and gospel choirs, and the Lawrence High School Jazz Band.
There will also be special featured performances.
The highlight of the event is the presentation of the Trailblazer awards, given to honorees in recognition of their contributions to the Mercer County area.
This year’s honorees include Kelly Ganges, the retired chief of staff for former Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes, and Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Marion Webb, who is a K-9 officer.
Also, Trineice Robinson-Martin, chair of the Berklee College of Music’s Ensemble Department in Boston, and Lisa Hall, founder of Rays of Hope Inc., which encourages young people to become involved in community service projects and to develop leadership skills, will be honored.
Black History Month grew out of Negro History Week, which began in 1915. Historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. It researched the achievements of Black Americans.
The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History sponsored a national Negro History Week in 1926. The second week in February was chosen because it coincided with the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, who was an escaped slave and who became an Abolitionist leader.
Over time, Negro History Week evolved into Black History Month. President Gerald Ford officially designated February as Black History Month in 1976 to recognize and acknowledge the achievements of Blacks in the United States.
