Martin Luther King Day, which falls on January 21 in 2019, honours the memory of Civil Rights leader, Reverend Martin Luther King. Traditionally, this observance ushers in National Black History Month in February. Both these celebrations invite Americans of all races to reflect on the struggles of blacks to attain civil rights in the wake of emancipation and especially World War II, as well as their contributions to American culture and society as a whole. Certainly, that contribution is one of the main hallmarks distinguishing American from the more general European culture, and it is one we may all be proud of, from the origins of Jazz to African influences on our distinctive cuisine to the military exploits of the Buffalo Soldiers. Religiously, however, American blacks have traditionally been overwhelmingly Protestant. Only 5 per cent are Catholic, as opposed to 24 per cent of the entire United States population.