Striving for Civil Rights: Byrd Center produces series of lectures on Black American history
By Tabitha Johnston - Chronicle Staff | Jan 22, 2021
The Robert C. Byrd Center has produced a series of six lectures exploring Black Americans struggle to overcome systemic racism and achieve racial equality. Tabitha Johnston
SHEPHERDSTOWN Ninety-two years ago this Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. was born. His assassination at the age of 39, in Memphis, Tenn., may have ended his work as a civil rights leader, but it did not prevent his legacy from continuing to change the face of the United States.
That unshakeable legacy led to the establishment of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a federal holiday by Pres. Ronald Reagan in 1983. While in years past, the holiday has been celebrated with festivals and parades across the country, the COVID-19 Pandemic forced this year’s event planners to alter the annual celebrations, in consideration of social distancing guidelines.