The Newark Pubic Library in partnership with the Friends of the James Brown African American Room will host a grand opening event unveiling the newly renovated James Brown African American Room on Thursday, January 17, at 6:00 p.m., at The Newark Public Library, located at 5 Washington Street in Newark, NJ. Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver, Mayor Ras J. Baraka, and City Council President Mildred C. Crump will be in attendance.
“The James Brown African American Room serves as an enduring testament to Mr. Brown’s tireless devotion to ensuring that The Newark Public Library is New Jersey’s leading source for documenting, preserving and fostering the history, culture and literary achievements of African Americans,” said Jeffrey Trzeciak, Director of The Newark Public Library. “We are proud to re-dedicate this space to celebrate James’ contributions to the Library and the people of Newark.” The James Brown African American Room was recently relocated from the first floor to the second floor and completely renovated.
James Brown dedicated his professional life to curating and expanding the Library’s collection of resources on the African American experience. Mr. Brown was a librarian at the Library for 29 years, and held the titles of principal librarian and head of the African American Room. After his untimely death at the age of 53, in 1991, the African American Room was renamed in his honor. Mr. Brown was especially committed to urging Newark youth to pursue education and to understand the importance of the Library’s role in their academic growth.
Mayor Ras J. Baraka said, “In his 29 years with The Newark Public Library, James Brown empowered creativity and the arts, by founding the Library’s Lorraine Hansberry Lecture Series, the pre-Kwanzaa Festival, the Urban Voices poet’s collective, and was a senior member of the Newark Black Film Festival Committee. He made an immense contribution to youth academics in Newark, urging our youth to pursue education and the library’s role in that. The renovation of the James Brown Room will honor the vision and maintain the legacy of one of Newark’s great educators, activists, and cultural leaders.”
“James Brown was a product of southern Jim Crow, northern oppression, and the Vietnam Nam War. His belief in the need for educated change was unshakeable,” said Dr. Linda Caldwell Epps, member of the Friends of the James Brown African American Room Executive Committee. “It is an honor to have this room dedicated to his memory. It is the intent of the Friends of the James Brown African American Room and The Newark Public Library to have this room as a space for learning — but more importantly, a space that rings true to African American culture and embodies the spirit of activist culture that has infected all people with the needed strength to keep the struggle for freedom and justice for all alive.”
The Friends of the James Brown African American Room support the pioneering work of James Brown by raising funds to purchase more books, music, films, and reference materials, and enabling the Library to offer more programs and exhibitions. Together, The Newark Public Library and the Friends of the James Brown African American Room are working to achieve Mr. Brown’s vision to document, preserve, and foster the history, culture, and literary achievements of African Americans, and to share it with everyone who uses the Library.
