BY HILLARY VIDERS
SPECIAL TO NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
TEANECK, N.J.—The local branch of a national civil rights organization recently solidified new leadership after its former president was elected Bergen County Sheriff.
Junius “Jeff” Carter III was named president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Bergen County Chapter, at a Jan. 13 ceremony that saw other senior leaders of the organization named at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Englewood.
Carter succeeds Anthony Cureton, who was elected Bergen County Sheriff last year after former County Sheriff Michael Saudino resigned after secretly recorded audio of him making racially charged statements were published by public radio station WNYC.
Over 150 people attended the NAACP Bergen County Branch installation of 2019-2020 officers, including numerous elected officials.
The group also included many clergymen from various parishes. Dr. Rev. William Allport II delivered an invocation and welcomed everyone to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, “A place where all people are welcome and glorious events take place.”
The program was opened and chaired by Carter, a former Englewood Board of Education trustee, who announced that the NAACP is celebrating 110 years of striving for social justice for all people.
Vice President Nathaniel Briggs congratulated Carter.
After a performance by the St. Paul’s Choir School led by Director Mark Trautman, Bergen County Freeholders Joan Voss, Mary Amoroso, Tom Sullivan, Tracy Zur and Germaine Ortiz presented a Certificate of Commendation to each of the new officers.
Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes then awarded a Certificate of Commendation to Carter.
“I can’t tell you as a young kid when I came to visit Englewood what a treat it was for me to grow up in the shadows of Tuskegee Airmen and to see that legacy invited in your leadership now passing the torch to people in this county,” said Carter. “We are facing extraordinary challenges and things have changed very much over the years. In the space that I occupy as an immigration lawyer, we see the way the civil rights of people are disrespected and how poorly they are being treated on U.S. soil, the very legacy of what we are celebrating.”
As Wildes presented the city’s Certificate of Commendation to Carter, he said, “There is something in this gentleman’s DNA, a very special component. He came to my home the moment I won the mayoral election to see how he could help.”
Cureton also had words of praise for Carter and for the accomplishments of the NAACP.
The Oath of Office was then administered to the new officers by Teaneck Municipal Court Judge James E. Young, followed by Samuel Manigault, Public Defender, who swore in the members of executive committee.
In a dramatic speech, Young boasted that he was a proud graduate of the first black university to grant 48 degrees, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania. He then named several prominent officials, including Cureton, who had been his students when he taught in the Englewood Public Schools.
Young went on to say, “The benefits and comforts that we enjoy today are not the result of any civil benevolence or righteousness on the part of our nation, but rather the result of a constant and diligent struggle, and the NAACP was and continues to be on the forefront of that struggle. So, I can’t tell you how much pride I have in the ability to participate in this ceremony and to swear in the new officers of the NAACP Bergen County Branch!”
Carter thanked everyone for coming and the program came to a close as Preston Thompson, Jr. gave the benediction. Afterwards, visitors remained for refreshments and to discuss upcoming NAACP sponsored events, such as the Black History Festival and Health Fair at Holy Name Medical Center on Feb. 9.