The role that African Americans played in World War I and II will be the focus of a talk by Kansas City civil rights living legend Chester Owens in the café area of the KCK Public Library main branch, 625 Minnesota Avenue, at 6 p.m. Mon., Nov. 18.

The lecture is part of a series on KCK Black History. Owens, 86 and a Korean War veteran, is a civil activist, historian, business professional, and humanitarian. He served on the KCK City Council and as the Chairman of the Labor and Industry Committee of the NAACP, and has received numerous awards for his civil rights and community service work including the NAACP Civil Rights Award, the Friends of Yates Black Man of Distinction Award, and the Dr. E. A. Freeman Living Legends Award.

The lecture is sponsored by the library and CiviX, a nonprofit organization that promotes the social, historical and practical aspects of citizenship.