A Minimal Effort

As it is, Black History Month in Concord islimited to one bookstore's window display.

Neither the town library nor the town itself isholding any special events to celebrate the month.

"We are conscious that [store] windows do alertpeople; we wanted to expose people to blackliterature and black history," Smith says, nothingthat the town is holding no events of which she isaware.

"I don't think there is [awareness]," Kauppsays. "I think there's an awareness for MartinLuther King, which is not the same as blackhistory."

"I guess...thinking of black history is arelatively new thing."

In the Concord Free Public Library, there is nowindow display nor book exhibit pertaining toBlack History Month.

Photographs by and articles on Concordphotographer Alfred Munroe fill two glass cases oneither side of the entrance.

Leaflets, ranging in topics from real estate toyoga to genealogy, are stacked in shelves near theentrance.

Despite the varied resources, there is no signof Black History Month within the wooden walls ofthe library.

According to librarians, the library did notcreate an exhibit on Black History Month due tolack of demand.

"Generally, the groups come in and they designsomething [with] a circulating book collection,"says Gerke, adding that no groups asked for aBlack History Month display this year.

"We've had a book display on it in the past,"he says. "There are so many differentobservations--Women's History Month and soforth--that...there always seems to be someimportance with a particular observation."

Librarian Jane Misslin gives a slightlydifferent reason for the lack of an exhibition.

"Everything you put on exhibit, you're removingfrom where it belongs," she says, noting thatschoolchildren often need books for Black HistoryMonth assignments.