February is a month that has been set aside to celebrate Black history month. As is traditional, we have had the chance to honor some prominent Black leaders of our community.

Janet Goodman and Richard Johnson, through their perseverance and pride in their families, themselves and their community, have helped Newton County became the solid community it is today.

The truth is that blacks in this country have stood shoulder to shoulder with many races to mold our very freedom and democracy since revolutionary times.
Crispus Attuchs, a black man, was one of the country’s first martyrs — he died in the Boston Massacre of 1770.

Throughout the history of our country, blacks have served with distinction and honor. Many have died to earn those freedoms we enjoy — some at the hands of their own countrymen. Many black leaders over the years, especially those in our own community, have taught all of us the meaning of what real class is.

We are grateful for leaders like Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr., who have shown us through the generations that truly we are all as one in this brotherhood of man, regardless of our color or our creed.