Senator Menendez Hosts 3rd Annual Black History Month Celebration

Prominent African American Community Leaders Attend “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants” Program
On the heels of his first official trip as Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez hosted his third annual “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants” program in observance of Black History Month. Sunday’s event at the Shiloh Baptist Church marked Senator Menendez third consecutive year commemorating Black History Month.

“There are times when it may seem that the challenges we face as a society are insurmountable – that society is too complex, too divided and insular for us to compromise with each other for the good of each other. But I’m an optimist,” said Senator Menendez.

“Now, in 2013, we must stand together; stand strong – on the shoulders of the giants who came before us – as we celebrate Black History Month remembering Abraham Lincoln’s legacy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words. He said, ‘There is but one way to commemorate the Emancipation Proclamation. That is to make its declarations of freedom real; to reach back to the origins of our nation when our message of equality electrified an unfree world, and reaffirm democracy by deeds as bold and daring as the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation.’”

The entire Emancipation Proclamation being recited by the Trenton NAACP Youth Council was one of many highlights during the program that was emceed by N.J. State Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman. The Honorable Joseph A. Greenaway of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit Court delivered this year’s keynote address. Rev. Darrell L. Armstrong, Pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church, gave Senator Menendez a warm welcome and introduction.

Receiving special honors at the event were the New Jersey Black Issues Convention, chaired by former N.J. State Assemblywoman Elease Evans, and the New Jersey State Conference of the NAACP, led by State President James Harris.