Professor Selected to Speak at Salem County Courthouse

Christopher Brooks, Dr. phil., associate professor of history at East Stroudsburg University, spoke at the Cumberland/Gloucester/Salem Vicinage at an event that celebrated Black History Month while honoring the life of Salem-born John S. Rock, a Renaissance man in a time of slavery whose groundbreaking admittance to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1865 signaled a dramatic departure from the Dred Scott decision that had denied citizenship rights to African-Americans less than a decade earlier.

The free public program, organized by the vicinage’s Advisory Committee on Minority Concerns, was held on Monday, February 29, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., in the ceremonial courtroom of the historic Salem County Courthouse, 104 Market St., Salem, N.J.

“As someobe who has studied the judiciary for a few decaes, it’s an honor to be selected by a higher court to present my work,” Dr. Brooks said.

Dr. Brooks was joined by J. Harlan Buzby of Pennsville, N.J., who wrote “John S. Rock: Teacher, Healer, Counselor,” a biography for high school students.

Following the presentation, a panel of African-American leaders from the legal community discussed Rock’s legacy as well as the personal challenges they encountered along their own career paths. The panel members are retired New Jersey Supreme Court Justice John E. Wallace Jr., Superior Court Judge Christine Allen-Jackson, Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae, Bridgeton Joint Municipal Court Prosecutor Demetrica Todd-Ruiz, and attorney Chad B. Davis of the Vineland firm Rosner & Tucker PC.

“We are very proud of this program,” said Assignment Judge Georgia M. Curio, who will serve as panel moderator. “John Rock is an important and underappreciated figure in not only African-American history but the history of the American legal system. His story is a fascinating one.”

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