EARTHDAY: April 1993
When I was appointed director of the Paterson Free Public Library ( the first black person to occupy that position since the library was founded in 1885 as NewJersey’s first chartered public library), one of the first things I did was to plant a tree on EARTHDAY in April of 1993. The tree was purchased for the occasion by the Friends of the Library, under the leadership of Dr. Richard Rumania, then president of the Friends of the Paterson Library. The tree was planted in the south-east corner of the employees parking lot , near the Children’s Department at the Main Library on 250 Broadway. The maintenance staff , their supervisor, Roger, myself and a pastor from one of the churches were present. Before the tree was planted, I talked about our responsibilities to save the Earth as God’s creatures, and to continue to ensure that the planet we call our home will remain sustainable and livable for future generations. I also poured libation asking the anim...