More than 200 people from around the county gathered Monday, Jan. 21 at the Society of African Missions in Tenafly to commemorate the life and work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. through speech, song and awards given to local community leaders.
Activist Margaret Blackburn White of Teaneck received the Lee Reid Award for work with the Social Services Advisory Board and with other diversity organizations in her fight against racism. During her acceptance speech, she questioned why all schools in the district didn’t cancel classes for the holiday and called for the building of a memorial to King in the county.
Students from 23 high schools in the county were awarded the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Certificate of Merit. Bayan Lahham of Al-Ghazaly High School in Teaneck, Rochelle Lawrence of Teaneck High School, Anirudh Ramkumar of Northern Valley Regional High School in Demarest, Allison Shaber of Tenafly High School, John J. Turner V of Northern Valley Regional High School in Old Tappan and Danyelle Mari Valentin of Community High School in Teaneck were among the winners.
"We try to find one outstanding student from high schools in the area for the awards," said Maggie Jones, a member of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Observance Committee of Bergen County, which hosted the event. "Each student also gets a $25 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble."
Notable speakers included Tenafly Mayor Peter Rustin, Sen. Loretta Weinberg and 37th district Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri. A written statement from Gov. Jon S. Corzine was also read.
The Rev. Justin Osterman of Central Unitarian Church in Paramus was the keynote speaker, giving his insight on King’s message of peaceful protest for racial equality.
"Martin Luther King Jr. gave his life for our nation in a dangerously unselfish way," Osterman said. "Rev. King is who I would consider the single greatest figure of the 20th century."
Members of the audience were especially moved by Osterman’s interpretation of the legacy left by the slain African American civil rights leader and Nobel Prize winner.
"There were some really enlightened speakers, especially the reverend," said Gregory Jones of Tenafly. "He had a lot of insightful things to say about Dr. King... It was a real reminder that the work never stops for equality and freedom."
King was catapulted to this nationally famed civil rights activist role when, as a relatively unknown young Baptist minister, he led the famed Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and delivered his legendary "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. in 1963 to more than 200,000 protesters. He was assassinated April 4, 1968 at a motel in Memphis, Tenn where he went to support striking sanitation workers.
In King’s dream, "I’ve Been to the Mountaintop," the voice of the nonviolent civil rights movement of the 1960s set out to create a nation free from social inequalities. His promise of being "free at last" still resonated with the crowds at the Society of African Missions almost 45 years after it was given.
The Teaneck Community Chorus and the New Jersey City University Unity Ensemble entertained the large audience with singing, dancing and percussion instruments.
"I was surprised by the number of people here tonight," said Prof. Howard LaMarca of Long Island University C.W. Post. "The music was terrific... It was all very nicely done."
