def # 9 01/14/11
PRESENTATION ON THE MESSAGE OF CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING SCHEDULED FOR JAN. 25
TOMS RIVER - The Ocean County Human Relations Commission will host a presentation and panel discussion on the
message of Civil Rights Leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as it affects communities today and in the future.
The event "What Would Martin Say? Then and in the New Millennium," is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 25
and will be held in Mancini Hall at the main branch of the Ocean County Library, 101 Washington St., Toms River, here.
Richard P. Strada, Ocean County College’s Executive Vice President for Instruction will give an overview of the Civil
Rights movement. Panel members are long-time Ocean County journalist Don Bennett, WOBM radio news anchor Rosetta Key, and
Matthew Reid, a graduate of Ocean County College and current Sociology Major at Kean-Ocean. The evening will be moderated
by Tom Mongelli, Shore News Bureau Chief, Millennium Radio New Jersey.
"I want to encourage all of our residents to come out for this program," said Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari, who
serves as liaison to the Ocean County Library. "This event will provide a forum that focuses on how far we have come and
how much further we need to go. I commend the commission members and the library for hosting this program in honor of Dr.
Martin Luther King’s great works."
Richard Biolsi, chairperson of the Commission, noted that the Commission offers programs and activities designed to
eliminate discrimination of any kind on any level.
"Martin Luther King was considered the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement, which
successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law," Biolsi said. "It’s important we go back to his
works as a reminder that there is still much work to be done."
Sign language interpretation and refreshments will be provided and Professional Development Certificates will be
available. Sponsors of the event are the Ocean County Human Relations Commission, Ocean County College Office of
Multicultural Services, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Jersey Shore PFLAG and the Ocean County Library.
To register for the evening’s event visit the Ocean County Library website at www.theoceancountylibrary.org or call
(732) 349-6200.
Reisa Sweet, a Commission member recalled participating in the march from Selma to Montgomery with King saying "We wrote
our wills while waiting to board our plane at Newark Airport because of bomb scares. As Jews, from families who escaped
oppression, my husband Ira and I identified with the suffering caused by the legal but immoral rules of Jim Crow.
"Martin Luther King said that we would forget the words of our enemies, but not the silence of our friends. We
went where our hearts brought us; we could not be silent," she said.
