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Kay Harris is an Asbury Park business owner who remains active with the local school district from which she graduated in 1970.

She was among those who accompanied the students’ recent mission to Ghana, giving them personal journals to reflect on their experiences.  

And while her personal journey and history led her from Clark Atlanta University where she obtain an MBA to a career at AT&T in Morristown, it is her family’s personal local history that led to her opening the 2,600 square foot Asbury Galleria 12 years ago on the Asbury Park Boardwalk.

Located inside Convention Hall, the store bridges the past to the present by featuring an array of historical city and music memorabilia, photography, and a collection devoted to the local African-American progression.

It’s a natural progression that rests on her grandfather Lorenzo W. Harris personal history. The  painter, sand sculptor, lecturer and civil rights leader helped desegregate Asbury Park’s beaches, schools and amusements. He is known as ‘The Sand Man’ for his sculptures along the beaches, for which he often posed as an Arab to avoid racial hostility.

Lending on that personal history and coming of age during the Civil Rights Movement, Harris offers a personal reflection in From Amistad To The White House: Teachable Moments From 1839 to Within My Lifetime.

The self-published book brings the civil rights movement up-to-date with reflections on the election of the nation’s first black President and news stories that continue to frame the human rights struggle, she said in a written statement. It traces a journey from Birmingham and Memphis to ‘the nearly forgotten back roads’ of Money, Mississippi.

“I knew of these Civil Rights events but to actually be there in person is a special experience,” Harris said. “Even though I thought I knew the history of our past, by doing the book I learned so much more about it the back stories of our past. It was an interesting but and  humbling, heart wrenching journey.”

Harris will read excerpts from her book and lead an open discussion from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Asbury Park Public Library, located at 500 First Ave, at the corner of Grand Avenue.

“Please note that the events that I hold are actually more discussion events than just book readings,” she said. “They are interactive, with participation and dialogue with the audience.”

Harris will sign copies of the book, which are $25.99 for paperback and $32.99 for hardcover. Proceeds will benefit St Augustine’s Episcopal Church and the Asbury Park Historical Society, of which she is a member.

This book is also available at the Asbury Park Library, via Amazon and at the Asbury Galleria, For more information or requests for future reading events, email Harris at kayharrismck@msn.com.

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