TEANECK, N.J.—The NAACP of Bergen County led a recent effort to engage and educate young people about the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the fight for equality.
Over 100 people including students attended the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend Youth Summit at Teaneck High School Student Center on Jan. 17.
“This is the first year we’ve done this and we hope it will give perspective to our youth and inspire them to effect change,” said NAACP of Bergen County President Jeff Carter. “It’s wonderful to bring students from [Hackensack, Englewood and Teaneck] together.”
Welcoming participants to the event was emcee Ryan Cobb, a young activist who has led protests denouncing police violence against African Americans.
Shown was Ava DuVernay’s award-winning documentary, “13th,” about the history of racism and enslavement of black people in America. The title refers to the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1865 to abolish slavery and involuntary servitude—except as a punishment for conviction of a crime. The movie shows how that exception allowed arrests and lengthy or life-time prison sentences for free black men who were accused of even relatively minor “crimes.”
DuVernay’s compelling film depicts the suppression of African Americans by disenfranchisement, lynchings and Jim Crow laws. It praises the work of Martin Luther King, Jr., Angela Davis and other civil rights movement leaders, but shows how their progress was tempered by several 20th century presidential administrations in which politicians declared a war on drugs that weighed disproportionally on minorities and led to mass incarceration that tears apart communities.
DuVernay also gives an eye-opening look at the highly profitable prison-industrial system and the emerging detention-industrial complex, discussing how much money is being made by corporations from such incarcerations.
The film screening was followed by a discussion led by Judge James Young—who was a Teaneck municipal judge for 30 years—and Attorney Jason Foy, a criminal lawyer.
They were introduced by Janis E. Dismus Middle School Principal Lamarr Thomas, who thanked everyone for attending.
“I especially appreciate the parents who took the time to come here and bring your children…” he said.
Judge Young focused his remarks on taking action and on the importance of voting for what is in one’s best interests.
“Our purpose here tonight is to make all of you be in a position to one day be standing up here to help the next group of young people and not be starring in a movie like this,” said Young.
Foy said, “The end of the movie has positive images, which means that in spite of all the struggle and oppression, we still rise. We’re still strong.
“The ‘13th’ isn’t just about the past, it is about the present, and you have to figure out what you’re going to do moving forward because your time is coming to be the leader,” said Foy. “You don’t have to be a lawyer, a principal, a judge or a brilliant filmmaker like Ava DuVernay, to make a positive effect on your community and your family.”
This advice is a fitting tribute to King’s legacy and reminiscent of a speech that he delivered in 1967 at Barrett Junior High School in Philadelphia.
“In your life’s blueprint, you must have as a basic principle the determination to achieve excellence in your various fields of endeavor,” King spoke. “You are going to be deciding as the days and years unfold what you will do in life, what your life’s work will be. Once you discover what it will be, set out to do it and do it well. Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be the sun or a star, for it isn’t by size that you win or you fail, be the best of whatever you are…”
That theme was effectively reinforced at the NAACP Youth Summit in Teaneck on Jan. 17, and will hopefully continue to resound in communities everywhere.
This seminal event was sponsored by the NAACP Bergen County, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women and the Teaneck Public Schools.
