The New Jersey Center for the Book (NJCB), an affiliate of the United States Library of Congress based at SC&I, bestowed its coveted Literary Landmark Award upon the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center in Red Bank, New Jersey on Saturday, March 23, 2024. The ceremony began at 1:30 p.m. and ran concurrently with a second event called “The Black Press Expanding Exhibit: Shaping Black Identity and Black Influence.” Attendees on behalf of the NJCB included its chairman, New Jersey author Wil Mara, as well as its vice chair, Sharon Rawlins, Youth Services Specialist at the New Jersey State Library.

The T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center recognizes and continues the work of Timothy Thomas Fortune, an American orator, civil rights leader, journalist writer, editor, and publisher. Fortune was the editor of the nation’s leading Black newspaper The New York Age and the leading economist in the Black community. He was also a long-time advisor to Booker T. Washington as well as the editor for Washington’s first autobiography, "The Story of My Life and Work." Fortune’s philosophy of militant agitation on behalf of the rights of Black people laid one of the foundations of the modern Civil Rights Movement.

The New Jersey Center for the Book’s Literary Landmark Award designates places or monuments across the state that represent New Jersey’s literary, scientific, or artistic heritage and legacy. Previous recipients include the Newark Public Library, the Walt Whitman House, and the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies.

Following a brief speech by the NJCB Chair, a plaque was presented to commemorate the occasion, and light refreshments were served.

To learn more about the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center, visit the website.

Discover more about the New Jersey Center for the Book, based at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information, on the website.

Image: Caio for Pexels

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