President Paul Newell thanked the speaker and presented him with the Rotary mug.
Dave Brown introduced the speaker, William Broughton, L.B. Public Safety Director.
Director Broughton introduced guest Kelly Hughes, assistant to the director.
Topic: Black History
Highlights - First the Director related his personal trajectory from starting as a police officer to City Manager of Teaneck, N.J. and to his present position.
He started with the history of Black Africans brought to the U.S. in 1525 under adverse conditions for the purpose of providing free labor to plantations in Florida. The Black History event was first introduced in 1915 as National Negro Week. The holiday is in February to coincide with the birthdays of President Lincoln and Frederick Douglas.
The Director recounted facts about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., American Baptist Minister & civil rights activist. Starting in 1955 Dr. King organized peaceful civil rights protests. Some of his significant accomplishments were the Voting Rights Act and the desegregation of public buses. He won the Noble Peace Prize in 1964. He was assassinated in 1968. Director Broughton concluded that Black History month is meant to enrich lives and to give everyone thanks for fighting for equality.