Students and teachers of P.S. 199 were genuinely surprised last month when a first grader revealed that her next-door neighbor on West End Avenue in New York City – Marvin Rich – had been an associate of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had been in jail with him in Georgia, had worked with him on a number of campaigns, and still retained the powerful memories of King’s contributions to the civil rights victories of the 1960s. Once the teacher realized that the student’s connection with an associate of Dr. King was not just a figment of her imagination, she rushed to invite him to speak at the PS 199 Library's 2nd annual Martin Luther King, Junior assembly.

Labor Arts would like to celebrate Black History Month 2008 by displaying a small sample of Rich’s historic collection, items he recently used in his presentation to the students of P.S. 199.