Posts

Showing posts from February, 2014

The 5th Annual MLK Coffee Drinking Party: Civil Rights and Coffee--Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (What a Party it Was!)

Image
On Sunday, January 19 th , 2014, we hosted our 5 th annual MLK Coffee-Drinking Party. (MLK, Jr. loved coffee and was a regular coffee-drinker.) Five years seems like a long time, certainly long enough to create a tradition in a community like Montclair, New Jersey. But when you think about long-standing traditions, you should think about coffee. Coffee has been part of the human experience since the 9 th century when, according to the legend, an Ethiopian goat-herder “discovered” coffee beans after observing his goats eating them and becoming unusually active. By the 1400’s, coffee beans were being cultivated and roasted on the Arabian Peninsula, and by the 1600’s, regular coffee consumption was part of life in Europe and New York. Coffee and Civil Rights—Two Old, Cherished Traditions Now think about Civil Rights. Think beyond the United States for a moment. What are civil rights? Civil rights are secular human rights that guarantee legal, social and economic equ