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OR SHALL WE SAY GOOD AFTERNOON.
MY NAME IS A DORIA MARY THOMAS.
I'M A PROUD MEMBER OF THE ESS COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS.
IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY ANY ESSEX COUNTY FOLK IN THE BUILDING.
ANYBODY FROM RIGHT? ALL RIGHT.
ANYBODY, BABY, YOU'RE NOT, NOT FROM HERE OR RAISED HERE, BUT YOU WORK HERE.
THIS IS A PART OF YOUR EXTENDED FAMILY.
SO I WANT YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AROUND.
IF YOU LOOK UP, YOU'LL SEE, OR I WANT YOU TO TRY AND FIND THE TOWN OR CITY MUNICIPALITY IN ESSEX COUNTY THAT YOU CALL SOME VERSION OF HOME, BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE TOWN, EVERY SINGLE MUNICIPALITY IN ESSEX IS RIGHT HERE.
ALL RIGHT? SO WHERE YOU, IF YOU SEE YOUR FOLKS OR YOU SEE YOUR PLACE, POINT IT OUT.
YOU SEE NEWARK? OOH, NEWARK IS IN A BUILDING.
ALTHOUGH WITH THE ORANGES, THEY PUT US ALL, THEY PUT Y'ALL ALL TOGETHER WITH LOVE.
WHAT ELSE? WHAT ELSE? INDEED, INDEED.
I LOVE TO POINT THAT OUT THOUGH AND CONTINUE LOOKING, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S A REMINDER THAT THIS IS YOUR HOME.
WE HAVE OUR DEPUTY CLERK WITH US WHO WORKS SO TIRELESSLY EVERY SINGLE DAY.
ADAM FROM MARS COUNTY TEAM KEVIN IN THE BACK, RIGHT? KYLE? KYLE.
I'M MIXING ALL THE NAMES TOGETHER 'CAUSE WE DO HAVE A KEL THAT WORKS FOR THIS.
BUT WE ALL WORK COLLECTIVELY TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN YOU ARE HERE, YOU KNOW THAT THESE ARE YOUR CHAMBERS, THIS IS YOUR COMMUNITY.
WITH THAT SAID, IT'S AN HONOR TO CELEBRATE PEOPLE AND OUR COMMUNITY WHO DO THE WORK.
CAN WE JUST GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THE EVERY SINGLE HONOREE WHO IS REPRESENTING ESSEX COUNTY IN OUR VERY FIRST, AND IT WILL NOT BE THE LAST CELEBRATION OF THE NATIONAL PANHELLENIC COUNCIL AND THE DIVINE NINE ORGANIZATIONS THAT MAKE UP THIS GREAT COUNTY TO KICK US OFF.
IT'S MY HONOR AND PRIVILEGE TO BRING UP A VERY SPECIAL GUEST TO GIVE YOU GUYS A FEW WORDS.
'CAUSE YOU FOUNDED OUR ROBBERY TO BE HERE
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ON ASH WEDNESDAY IN THE MIDDLE OF RAMADAN, AS WE CELEBRATE THE GREATNESS AMONG US.SO IT'S MY HONOR AND PRIVILEGE TO BRING UP ANOTHER GENERATION OF GREATNESS WHO REPRESENTS THE GREATNESS THAT WE'LL BE CELEBRATING TODAY.
CHLOE GUY, CHLOE GUY MARTINO IS A THIRD GRADER, THIRD GRADER TO BE EXACT, FROM NEWARK AND JERSEY CITY, ATTENDING PHILLIPS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL.
SHE'S A CURIOUS AND ENERGETIC YOUNG WOMAN WITH A PASSION FOR ICE SKATING, READING, AND TRAVELING.
CHLOE HAS A PASSION FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE, A LOVE FOR ALL ANIMALS EXCEPT ALLIGATORS AND SHARKS,
DEAR FRIEND, NATALIE GUY IS ALSO A PROUD MEMBER OF ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA INCORPORATED SORORITY.
IT IS MY HONOR AND PRIVILEGE TO BRING UP CHLOE GUY MARTINO, TO WELCOME YOU ON THIS BLESSED OCCASION.
I AM CHLOE GUY MARTINO, A THIRD GRADER IN PHILLIPS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL, AND THANK YOU AARI MURRAY PROMISE FOR BEING A AMAZING ROLE MODEL FOR YOUNG GIRLS LIKE ME.
AND THANK YOU FOR HOSTING THE VERY FIRST EXES COUNTY DIVINE NINE DAY.
THE D NINE MEANS SO MUCH TO ME AND MY FAMILY.
MY NANA IS AN IVY BEYOND THE WALL WALLS, AND MY POPPOP IS A PROUD MEMBER OF OMEGA SCI FIVE, AND MY AUNT OF MY AUNTIES AND UNCLES, MY AUNTIES AND UNCLES ARE DATE ARE DELTAS, KAPPAS, ALPHAS, AND ZETAS
CONGRATS TO ALL THE D NINE STARS THAT WE WILL CELEBRATE TODAY.
AND THANK YOU TO TWO, TO THIS MEMBER OF THE DD NINE FOR OUR SERVICE.
MY ONLY AND ONE MOM, NATALIE GUY WHO'S PROUD OF ME, AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THE PEOPLE THAT REPRESENT AND CELEBRATING THE D NINE FOR OUR SERVICE.
NOW CHLOE IS NINE YEARS OLD AND READING SOME WORDS MORE ADVANCED AND MORE FLUENTLY THAN FOLKS I KNOW ARE MORE SENIOR THAN HER.
SO CHLOE, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, SHARING YOUR LIGHT AND YOUR GREATNESS WITH US.
YOUR MOTHER, YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY, AND ALL OF THE GREEKS AND MEMBERS OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT, UH, CELEBRATE YOU AND CELEBRATE ALL OF US TOGETHER ARE SO GLAD THAT YOU ARE HERE WITH US TODAY WITH YOUR BEAUTIFUL WORDS.
IT'S MY HONOR AND PRIVILEGE TO ACTUALLY BEGIN, UH, FIRSTLY I WANNA SWITCH GEARS A LITTLE BIT.
I WANNA FIRST JUST ACKNOWLEDGE THE GREATNESS IN THE ROOM.
CAN YOU TURN TO YOUR NEIGHBOR AND SAY, HEY, GREATNESS.
IF YOU DIDN'T REALIZE YOU'RE SITTING NEXT TO GREATNESS.
AND WHILE WE HAVE NINE, IN FACT, IF YOU COUNT 10 DISTINGUISHED HONOREES, EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN HERE IS HONORED ON THIS DAY AND ALWAYS FOR THE GREATNESS THAT THEY ARE AND THE GREATNESS THAT THEY CONTRIBUTE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
WITH THAT SAID, IT IS MY HONOR THOUGH, TO BEGIN, DO WE HAVE MINISTER BECK HERE WITH US YET? NO.
SO WE'LL HAVE HER CLOSE US IN A WORD OF, OF GRATITUDE AND THANKS AND PRAYER.
BUT I'D LIKE TO BEGIN BY ACTUALLY WELCOMING OUR FIRST
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OF ALL, ALL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT MAKE UP THE NATIONAL PANHELLENIC COUNTY OF ESSEX.SO WE HAVE THE ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, BETA ALPHA OMEGA, RO GAMMA OMEGA, AND ALPHA, ALPHA LAMBDA CHAPTERS WHO ARE PART OF THE PANHELLENIC ROUND APPLAUSE FOR THEM.
WE HAVE DELTA SIGMA THETA SORORITY, THE MONTCLAIR AND NORTH JERSEY ALUMNI CHAPTERS.
WE HAVE IOTA PHI THETA FRATERNITY, THE PHI OMEGA ALUMNI CHAPTER.
WE HAVE KAPPA ALPHA SI FRATERNITY, THE MAPLEWOOD ORANGES, MONTCLAIR AND NEWARK ALUMNI CHAPTERS
WE HAVE OMEGA PSI FIVE FRATERNITY, THE ATA PIE CHAPTER.
WE HAVE THE FIVE BETA SIGMA FRATERNITY, THE THE SIGMA, CHAPTER SIGMA.
WE HAVE THE SIGMA GAMMA ROW SORORITY, THE THETA PHI SIGMA ALUMNI CHAPTER.
AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, WE HAVE THE THETA PHI BETA SORORITY, GAMMA OMICRON ZETA CHAPTER.
SO WHEN I SAY YOU'RE SITTING NEXT TO GREATNESS, YOU ARE SITTING NEXT TO GREATNESS.
AS YOU ARE A PART OF SITTING NEXT TO SOMEONE WHO IS A PART OF THESE INCREDIBLE ORGANIZATIONS WITH LEGACIES OF SERVICE, OF COMMUNITY, AND OF MAKING SURE WE LIFT AS WE CLIMB ORGANIZATIONS THAT WERE ESTABLISHED DURING A PERIOD OF SIGNIFICANT RACIAL UPROAR AND CHALLENGES, WHERE FRANKLY, THEY DIDN'T WANT US AT THEIR TABLES.
SO WE SAID, WE'RE GONNA BUILD OUR OWN.
THEY DIDN'T WANT US IN THEIR GROUPS, SO WE SAID, WE'LL CULTIVATE AND BUILD OUR OWN.
AND SO TODAY, AS WE CELEBRATE THESE HONOREES, WE'RE ALSO CELEBRATE CELEBRATING THE GREAT SHOULDERS IN WHICH THEY SAND THE FOUNDERS OF ALL THEIR INCREDIBLE ORGANIZATIONS WHO BUILT TREES WHOSE SHADES MAYBE THEY DIDN'T GET TO FULLY SIT UNDER, BUT WE GET TO SIT UNDER THOSE SHADES TODAY.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, IT'S MY HONOR TO BRING UP OUR FIRST HONOREE, MISS SHARON FHE OF THE DELTA SIGMUND THETA SORORITY, THE NORTH JERSEY ALUMNI CHAPTER, AND PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL PANHELLENIC COUNCIL OF ESSEX COUNTY TO THE PODIUM.
ALL OF OUR HONOREES, INCLUDING MS. CHE'S BIOS, ARE FAR TOO LONG TO GIVE EVEN JUSTICE TO, TO ATTEMPT TO READ THEM.
BUT WHAT I'D LIKE TO SHARE IS THAT MS. CHE AND I HAVE SUCH A REALLY UNIQUE AND INTERESTING STORY.
JAMES A ME CHURCH BABY, AND SO I CALL ST.
JAMES A ME AND BETHANY BAPTIST CHURCH, MY HOME CHURCH IN MY HOMES.
AND GROWING UP, JUST SEEING YOU BEING IN YOUR PRESENCE AND YOUR AURA WAS A GIFT.
I NEVER KNEW THOUGH, THAT THE LADY WHO WOULD BE LIKE, HEY, DORIAN, SET IT UP.
MAKE SURE YOU LISTENING AS A KID WOULD ALSO BE THE ONE THAT WHEN I WAS 16 YEARS OLD, ACTUALLY 17, APPLYING FOR COLLEGES WOULD SAY, YOU SHOULD APPLY TO THESE SCHOLARSHIPS BECAUSE NORTH JERSEY ALUMNI CHAPTER AND THE MONTCLAIR ALUMNI CHAPTER OF DELTA SIGMA THETA HAS SCHOLARSHIPS.
AND YOU WOULD BE A STRONG CANDIDATE.
AND THAT'S WHAT ALLOWED ME TO BE ABLE TO GO TO COLLEGE WITH HARLEY ZERO DEBT AND HER SPENDING HER ENTIRE, ACTUALLY ZERO DEBT, BUT HARLEY ZERO BALANCE, BUT HER ENTIRE CAREER, BE IT FROM EOF OR TAKING CARE OF AND MENTORING YOUNG PEOPLE WITHIN OUR CHURCH OR GREATER NEWARK COMMUNITY OR THROUGH THE DELTA SIGMA THETA AT PANHELLENIC COUNCIL, HAS BEEN ROOTED IN THAT SERVICE.
AND I DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL LITERALLY NOT TOO LONG AGO, SOME YEARS AGO IN MY TWENTIES, THAT SHE DID THE SAME THING WITH MY MOM.
MY MOTHER WAS 17, 18 YEARS OLD AT KANE UNIVERSITY.
I THAT, I DUNNO, MY DAD AT KANE AS AN EOF STUDENT.
AND SHE SAID, I NEED YOU TO GET IN THIS OFFICE SO WE CAN MAKE SURE YOU HAVE WHAT YOU NEED TO THRIVE.
AND SO FOR YOUR SERVICE, FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND YOUR HARD WORK, NOT JUST ON BEHALF OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE NEXT GENERATION, BUT ON BEHALF OF ALL OF THE PANHELLENIC COUNCILS AND FRANKLY EVERYONE WHO TOUCHES YOUR ORBIT, WE'RE SO HONORED TO CELEBRATE YOU TODAY.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, I DON'T NEED TO SAY MUCH.
AS A DORIAN MENTIONED, I AM THE PRESIDENT OF THE ESSEX COUNTY PANHELLENIC COUNCIL.
[00:15:01]
LIKE TO DO, UM, ESPECIALLY AS I LOOK AROUND THE ROOM, I LOOK AT THE AWARDEES.UM, WHILE YOU ARE BEING RECOGNIZED BY THE COMMISSIONERS, I'D LIKE TO EXTEND AN INVITATION FOR ALL OF YOU WHO MIGHT LIVE IN ESSEX COUNTY TO JOIN OUR PANHELLENIC COUNCIL.
WE MEET THE LAST THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, BECAUSE I'M NOT GONNA SPEAK LONG, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS PARAMOUNT FOR ME IS THAT THE DIVINE NINE PANHELLENIC SHOULD REPRESENT ALL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS.
AND IN MY POSITION AS PRESIDENT, I HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY IN RAINY WEATHER AND SNOWY WEATHER TO TRACK DOWN PEOPLE.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU WILL FIND AS A MEMBER OF THE ESSEX COUNTY PANHELLENIC COUNCIL, IS THAT WE WORK AS A UNIT.
UM, THERE'S NO ONE CHAPTER OR ORGANIZATION EMPHASIS THAT EVER GOES ON.
AND, UM, AND WE WORK TOGETHER.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE, EXTEND THE INVITATION, 1 32 SOUTH HARRISON STREET IN EAST ORANGE.
WE MEET, AND YOU WOULDN'T EVEN KNOW WE WERE IN DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS IF WE DIDN'T HAVE OUR COLORS ON WHEN WE COME HERE.
SO I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT ALL OF THE EFFORTS, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, IMPACT YOUTH, UM, SENIORS IN ESSEX COUNTY, THAT'S WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE DOING.
AND THANK YOU AGAIN, A DORIAN FOR THIS RECOGNITION, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING SOME OF YOU AT ONE OF OUR MEETINGS.
ONE MORE ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR MR. CHE, EVERYONE WHO'S NOT ONLY REPRESENTING HER CHAPTER OF DELTA SMITH THETA SORORITY INCORPORATED, BUT ALSO THE PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL PANHELLENIC COUNCIL, FOR WHICH OF COURSE SHE INVITES EVERYONE TO BE INVOLVED.
IF YOU'RE NOT ALREADY, IT'S MY HONOR TO RECOGNIZE OUR NEXT HONOREE WHO LITERALLY PERFECT TIMING JUST CAME IN.
IF YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, BY THE WAY, THE ORDER OF OUR CALLING FOLKS UP IS BASED OFF THE ORDER OF THE FOUNDING OF THE ORGANIZATIONS.
WE HAVE NONE OTHER THAN MR. LEONARD ROBBINS OF THE ALPHA PHI ALPHA PATERNITY.
SO IF YOU WOULD JOIN US, AND I AM JUST SO GRATEFUL TO HONOR YOU FOR NOT ONLY BEING THE AWESOME OTHER HALF TO MY QUEEN AND MENTOR CECILIA KING, UH, BUT FOR EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING, LITERALLY IN MY OWN NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE FAIRMOUNT HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, BUT THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF NEWARK, THROUGHOUT THE STATE, STATE OF NEW JERSEY, AND FRANKLY THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, AROUND SETTING MODELS ON HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE WHO MAKE THESE CITIES WHAT THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY'RE BECOMING AND WHY EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO MOVE HERE NOW HAVE HOMES HERE CAN BECOME HOMEOWNERS HERE, AND NOT JUST RENTERS, ALTHOUGH IT'S IMPORTANT TO RENT TOO.
MAKE SURE THAT THESE HOMES THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO AFFORD OR HAVE ACCESS TO ARE AFFORDABLE IN DOING SO WITH AN EQUITY AND PEOPLE CENTERED LENS.
AND SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON BEHALF OF FAMILIES, ON BEHALF OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF HOMEOWNERS AND CURRENT GENERATIONS OF HOMEOWNERS, I RUN A NONPROFIT FOR YOUNG WOMEN AND GIRLS CALLED SHE WINS.
AND I LITERALLY HAVE YOUNG PEOPLE IN MY ORGANIZATION RIGHT NOW WHOSE PARENTS ARE IN YOUR PROGRAM AT URBAN LEAGUE, AND THEY'RE ABOUT TO BECOME, UH, HOMEOWNERS GOING FROM SECTION EIGHT TO HOMEOWNERS BECAUSE OF THE WORK THAT YOU DO THROUGH THE URBAN LEAGUE AND JUST BECAUSE OF YOUR COMMITMENT.
IT'S AN HONOR TO CELEBRATE YOU TODAY.
UM, COMMISSIONER MURRAY THOMAS, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE HONOR OF BEING AT LEAST RECOGNIZED FOR THE WORK THAT WE DO IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND IN THE REAL ESTATE SECTOR.
UH, I HAVE TO SAY THOUGH, I HAVE TO ACCEPT THIS HONOR IN, UM, IN HONOR OF MY FATHER WHO, UH, I SAY, YOU KNOW, HE PASSED IN 93, BUT HE'S STILL WITH ME.
UH, AND SO YOU, YOU SEE THE, THE, IT DOESN'T, THAT DOESN'T FALL FAR FROM THE TREE IN TERMS OF JUST BEING OUT IN THE WORLD, DOING THE WORK OF BUILDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUILDING HOUSING FOR FOLKS, AND HI,
[00:20:01]
HIM BEING A MASTER BUILDER IN FLORIDA BEFORE WE MOVED TO, UH, PHILADELPHIA.AND DURING THE GREAT MIGRATION, HE WOULD BUILD HOUSES ON A HANDSHAKE.
AND, UH, AND, AND, AND MOST OF MY BROTHERS AND EVEN SOME OF MY SISTERS ARE REALLY, HAVE THAT ABILITY AND SKILL TO DEVELOP AND BUILD HOUSES.
SO WE WE'RE, WE'RE PROBABLY IN EVERY SECTOR OF THE BUILDING INDUSTRY, UH, BUILDING HOUSES.
WE HAVE, UH, CONTRACTORS, UH, PLUMBERS, MASONS, SO FORTH AND SO ON.
SO IT'S IN MY BLOOD TO DO WHAT I DO.
UH, AND IT COMES FROM, FROM MY FATHER.
AND, UH, BEFORE WE LEFT, AFTER WE LEFT FLORIDA AND, AND LANDED IN PHILADELPHIA, EVEN THOUGH HE COULD NOT GET, UM, UH, HE COULD NOT GET A, A, UH, A CARD, A A, A UNION CARD BECAUSE HE HAD ONE EYE.
NOW HE BUILT HOUSES IN FLORIDA ALL IN, YOU KNOW, ON A HANDSHAKE.
AND HE WAS VERY GOOD AT IT, BUT HE COULD NOT, HE COULD NOT SURVIVE IN THE, IN THE HARSH ENVIRONMENT OF THE NORTH.
UH, BUT THAT STRUGGLE DID NOT KEEP ME FROM, FROM, FROM PURSUING A DEGREE IN ARCHITECTURE AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, WHICH WHEN HE DROVE ME TO SYRACUSE, UM, UH, ONE, ONE TIME WE WAS GOING BACK TO SCHOOL, HE, HE ACTUALLY HAD A, HAD A NICE LONG CONVERSATION, SAID, OKAY, WE WERE HEADED TO SYRACUSE WHEN WE LEFT FLORIDA.
SO THAT WAS A REVELATION TO ME THAT, THAT I HAD FINALLY MADE THE TRIP THAT HE WAS TRYING TO, TRYING TO PLAN.
SO THAT'S WHY I WANNA HONOR THIS BY HONORING MY FATHER WHO WAS A MASTER BUILDER.
AND, UH, ALL THE WORK THAT I'VE DONE FROM, FROM MY, UH, IN, WELL, FROM GRADE SCHOOL TILL NOW, HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN, IN AND WORKING WITH CONTRACTORS.
AND, UM, IN THE WORK THAT I DID WITH, UH, WELL, YOU CAN SEE MY RESUME AND YOU CAN SEE THAT MOST OF MY CAREER HAS BEEN WITH, UH, DEVELOPING AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND I'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT HERE WITH LISC WITH THAT.
AND NOW I'M WITH THE LOCAL INSURANCE BOOK CORPORATION, AND WE'RE PROVIDING FUNDS TO, FOR DEVELOPERS, UH, TO BUILD IN, UH, LOW AND MODERATE INCOME COMMUNITIES.
SO I'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT WORK IN HONOR OF MY FATHER.
WELL, MR. ROBBINS, I'M SURE I KNOW, I KNOW LIKE MANY OF THE, HEY, MISS K
AND IN FACT, LEADERSHIP NEWARK IS HOW I MET ONE OF THE OTHER HONOREES WE'LL GET TO LATER.
SO I'LL BRING, I'LL BRING THAT UP.
UM, BUT, UH, MR. ROBBINS, I'M SURE YOUR FATHER, LIKE SO MANY OF THE ANCESTORS THAT ARE CONNECTED TO OUR OWN STORIES ARE ESPECIALLY PROUD.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I, I'D LOVE TO SHARE ABOUT THE COMMENDATIONS THAT YOU'LL BE RECEIVING TODAY, ONE, OF COURSE ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND OUR ENTIRE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, UM, IN ADDITION, YOU HAVE, UM, COMMENDATIONS FROM THE NEWARK CITY COUNCIL ON BEHALF OF COUNCILMAN CRUMP.
AND I BELIEVE THERE'S ACCOMMODATION FROM SENATOR BRITTANY TIMBERLAKE, SENATOR, SENATOR BRITTANY TIMBERLAKE OF THE MIGHTY EAST ORANGE.
EAST ORANGE IN THE BUILDING AS WELL.
SO YOU HAVE THESE OFFICIAL COMMENDATIONS COMING FROM CITY, COUNTY, AND STATE GOVERNMENT.
IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT OUR ANCESTORS AND THOSE WHO COME BEFORE, BUT I ALSO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THOSE WHO COME AFTER US TO BE ABLE TO KNOW ABOUT WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE'VE DONE FOR NOW AND FOREVER, FOR ALL OF OUR HONOREES AND EVERY ORGANIZATION ASSOCIATED WITH THEM.
OUR, OUR MAYOR RESA OF HILLSIDE KNOWS THIS.
WHEN YOUR DESCENDANTS, CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN, OUR LOOKING UP YOUR NAME AND SAID, WELL, WHAT DID MY GRANDMOTHER OR MY MOTHER DO? WHAT WERE THEY KNOWN FOR? THEY'LL BE ABLE TO PULL UP THE ARCHIVES OF THE GREATEST OF THE LARGEST COUNTY, SECOND LARGEST COUNTY IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, BEING SES COUNTY NEW JERSEY OF THE STATE LEGISLATURE, AND FIND YOUR NAME RECORDED IN THE HISTORY FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE AND THE LEGACY THAT YOU SERVE.
AND SO, FOR ALL OF OUR HONOREES, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GETTING TODAY IN THESE ACCOMMODATIONS.
YES, THEY'RE PRETTY AND THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL, BUT THEY'RE ALSO CERTIFYING YOU, INSTITUTIONALIZING YOU.
AND THE PERMANENT RECORD OF EVERY BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY IS THAT THAT'S NOT
[00:25:01]
SMALL, RIGHT? THAT'S A BIG DEAL.I'D LIKE TO MAKE SURE I ACKNOWLEDGE SOME OF THE INCREDIBLE DIGNITARIES WHO ARE WITH US TODAY ALREADY ACKNOWLEDGED.
I'D LIKE TO GIVE ANOTHER SHOUT OUT TO MY MENTOR AND SISTER IN THE WORK, MS. MAYOR DALIA RETREAT OF HILLSIDE, NEW JERSEY.
SHOUT OUT TO UNION COUNTY IN THE BUILDING, EAST ORANGE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
MY BROTHER CHRISTOPHER A IS IN THE BUILDING.
COUNCILWOMAN ALICIA HOLMAN IS IN THE BUILDING, RIGHT? RIGHT.
WE HAVE OUR COUNCIL PRESIDENT OF THE CITY OF ORANGE, MS. ADRIAN WOOTENS WITH US TODAY, AND OF THE CITY OF ORANGE, OR RATHER THE CITY OF ORANGE TOWNSHIP, OUR SOUTH WARD DISTRICT LEADER, MS. VERONICA SCOTT IS WITH US AS WELL.
AND OF COURSE, IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER, UH, ELECTED OFFICIALS OR DIGNITARIES, PLEASE GET THE WORK TO US AND WE'LL MAKE SURE WE ACKNOWLEDGE YOU, UH, AS FAR AS, UH, ANY CLERGY AS WELL.
WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING WITH US TODAY.
IT'S MY HONOR TO BRING UP OUR NEXT HONOREE, WHO IT WOULD TAKE A LONG TIME TO, TO READ HER BIO, WHICH BY THE WAY, EVERYONE HAS BIOS, UH, FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR HONOREES.
MAKE SURE YOU READ THEM AND JUST BE FULLY AWARE OF THE GREATNESS THAT WE'RE CELEBRATING TODAY.
BUT THIS NEXT HONOREE IS NONE OTHER THAN MS. SHAVAN ARMS OF THE ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, ROW KAPPA OMEGA, CHAPTER TWO.
WILL YOU JOIN US IN THE PODIUM? HEY.
NOW, MS. ARMSTRONG IS SOMEONE WHO I COULD TALK AT LENGTH ABOUT, BUT IN SHORT, I'D LIKE TO DESCRIBE HER BY THE WAY, HER STUDENTS DESCRIBE HER.
MY FAVORITE PERSON IN THE BUILDING, SOMEONE I KNOW WHO LOVES AND CARES FOR ME.
THIS IS HOW HER YOUNG PEOPLE LIKE EQUIPMENT, YOUNG PEOPLE WHO, IF I JUST MAY BE LIKE CANDID HERE, WHEN I THINK OF THE MAKEUP OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE IN YOUR BUILDING WHO THIS NATION, THIS WHITE HOUSE HAS WAGED WAR AGAINST APPEARED, UM, WHO COME TO MS. ARMSTRONG'S OFFICE, WHO COME TO HER ARMS AND KNOW THAT THEY'RE LOVED AND THEY'RE SEEN.
I REMEMBER BEFORE EQUIPMENT GOT A PORTUGUESE TEACHER IN THE BUILDING,
ANYBODY KNOW, A TEACHER OR A MENTOR, OR A MOTHER OR FATHER WHO'S GONNA FIND A WAY AND MAKE A WAY FOR YOU, THAT'S WHO MS. ARMSTRONG IS.
THAT'S WHO SHE'S BEEN FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS AS AN EDUCATOR.
WHEN SHE FIRST MET MY MOTHER AT 18TH AVENUE SCHOOL, WHEN THEY WERE TEACHERS TOGETHER, AND AS FRANKLY POURED INTO SO MANY OTHER YOUNG PEOPLE, NOT JUST FORMALLY THROUGH HER ROLE AS AN EDUCATOR, BUT AS A MENTOR AND THE NONPROFIT SPACE THROUGH MY ORGANIZATION, SHE WINS AS AN INCREDIBLE MOTHER TO HER DAUGHTER RE WHO IS NOW DOING HER THING AT MORGAN STATE.
THAT'S RIGHT INTO SO MANY OTHER YOUNG WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN THE GREAT CITY OF NORTH.
EVEN THOUGH SHE'S FROM BROOKLYN, SHE'S NOT GOING LET Y'ALL FORGET.
SO FOR THAT REASON AND SO MANY MORE, WE HONOR YOU AND WE CELEBRATE YOU TODAY.
MISS SHAVONNE ARMSTRONG, EVERY THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYBODY.
UM, I AM A BROOKLYN GIRL LIVING IN A NEWARK WORLD,
I HAD THE PLEASURE OF MOVING OUT TO NEWARK, UM, 20 YEARS AGO, AND YOU ALL HAVE CHEER MY HEART.
UM, BEING AN EDUCATOR IN THE CITY OF NEWARK, UM, I HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY OF WORKING WITH A VAST AMOUNT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AND, UM, JUST WHAT I LOVE ABOUT ALL OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS IS THAT WE PROVIDE SERVICE TO EVERYBODY, RIGHT? THE COLORS DON'T MATTER.
WE ALL HAVE THE SAME GOAL, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE OUTREACH AND PROVIDE EVERYBODY WITH SERVICE.
UM, I LOVE WHAT I DO EVERY DAY.
UM, I WANT WHAT I WANT FOR MY OWN DAUGHTER, FOR EVERYBODY ELSE'S CHILDREN.
SO TO HEAR SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE CHILDREN HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, SHARED WITH URIAN, UM, THEY MAY NOT SAY THAT TO ME
UM, BECAUSE, UM, WHEN YOU JUST SHOW UP EVERY DAY AND YOU DO WHAT YOU DO, IT'S, IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST A PART OF YOU OR MAKEUP, IT'S A PART OF LIKE YOUR DNA, UM, AS MR. ROBINS SPOKE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UM, I THINK OF MY LATE MOTHER AS WELL, AND SHE WAS ALSO AN EDUCATOR AND SHE WAS ALSO A MEMBER OF ALPHA CAP ALPHA, RIGHT? SO YOU BEGIN TO LIVE THAT LEGACY OF WHAT YOU SEE EMBODIED FOR YOU.
AND, AND THEN YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU DO THAT AS WELL.
SO, UM, AND I SEE ONE OF MY TEACHERS
[00:30:01]
IN THE BACK, I DID NOT EXPECT TO SEE HERE, BUT I AM GRATEFUL AND THANKFUL THAT, UM, THE WORK THAT I DO EACH DAY IS, IS BEING LIVED IN OUR CHILDREN.AND I AM HAPPY TO SHARE THIS, UH, HAVE THIS AWARD AND SHARE IT WITH ALL OF YOU.
AS MS. ARMSTRONG SHARED, IT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT EVERYONE, BUT ESPECIALLY OUR YOUNG PEOPLE, OUR MOST PRECIOUS GIFTS FEEL SAFE WHEREVER THEY ARE.
FROM OUR SCHOOLS, TO OUR CHURCHES, TO OUR MASS, TO OUR TEMPLES, TO THE BUS STOP.
OUR BABIES NEED TO KNOW THAT WE SEE THEM, WE LOVE THEM, WE CARE ABOUT THEM.
AND SO WHEN I THINK OF THIS NEXT HONOREE WHO, IN FACT, I ACTUALLY MET SPEAKING LEADERSHIP NEWARK AT A LEADERSHIP NEWARK PANEL.
THIS WAS A FAITH AND PUBLIC POLICY PANEL.
AND THERE WERE LIKE FOUR PEOPLE AND LIKE, OF VARIOUS AGES.
BUT ONE STOOD OUT TO ME 'CAUSE HE WAS YOUNG.
HE HAD LIKE THIS LONG BEARD, AND I'M THINKING HE ABOUT TO SAY ALALA MALE.
AND THIS BROTHER STARTS SPITTING ALL THE FIRE ABOUT JESUS.
AND AS A CHRISTIAN, AND AS HOW YOU CAN'T SEPARATE JESUS FROM JUSTICE.
AND HOW AS A PASTOR OF A CHURCH AND A NEW YOUNG PASTOR, THIS IS WHAT I SAID, WHOA, THIS BROTHER IS DIFFERENT.
THIS IS, I'VE NEVER HEARD SOMEONE SO YOUNG TALK ABOUT JESUS IN A WAY THAT WAS SO REAL THAT SPOKE TO ME.
AND I WAS LIKE, I GOTTA KNOW THIS BROTHER.
AND SO I VISIT HIS CHURCH AND I FALL IN LOVE WITH HOW HE PREACHES, THE WAY HE PREACHES, AND HOW HE CONNECTS TO SO MANY GENERATIONS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING THE WORK OF JESUS, WHICH IS JUSTICE.
AND THAT'S JUSTICE FOR EVERYONE.
AND SO, WHILE SAINT JAMES AMY IS ALWAYS MY CHURCH HOME, BETHANY BAPTIST CHURCH HAS ALSO BEEN A CHURCH HOME FOR ME.
AND I'VE BEEN SO PROUD TO BE THERE UNDER THE LEADERSHIP AND THE, THE, THE VISION OF REVEREND DR. TIMOTHY ATKINS JONES, WHO I INVITE TO THE STAGE, WHO CONTINUES TO TRANSFORM BETHANY WHEN HE'S NOT LITERALLY BEING A WHOLE PROFESSOR AT HUMAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN NEW YORK CITY, HOME TO LIBERATION THEOLOGY.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING A THIRD YEAR STUDENT.
I GRADUATED IN MAY WOO
SO IT'S JUST LIKE, GOD, JUST BE WORKING.
UM, BUT WHEN HE'S NOT PROFESSING, WHEN HE'S NOT FATHERING, WHEN HE'S NOT HUSBANDING, WHEN HE'S NOT LECTURING AND, AND PREACHING ACROSS THE COUNTRY, HE'S MAKING BETHANY REALLY DO THE WORK OF JESUS, WHICH IS TO BE A PLACE OF JUSTICE.
JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO, WE HAD THE VOTE 16 TOWN HALL SUMMIT THERE, AND, AND THE LIST GOES ON FROM, UH, COLLABORATIONS WITH POP TO SO MANY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, MAKING SURE THAT WE WALK THE WALK AND TALK, NOT JUST TALK THE TALK.
SO IT'S AN HONOR TO CELEBRATE YOU ON BEHALF OF THE BROTHERS OF THE CAMPUS, PLEASE GIVE US A FEW WORDS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, IT'S SO GOOD TO BE ABLE TO SEE YOU IN THE MANY DIFFERENT FACETS, UH, BOTH OF OUR RELATIONSHIP.
AND JUST TO SEE YOU SHINE IS SUCH A GIFT.
UM, EVEN WHEN YOU GET MY ASSIGNMENTS IN A LITTLE LATE, UM,
THERE'S, THERE'S GRACE IN THE KINGDOM.
LIKE EVERY BAPTIST PREACHER SAYS, ALWAYS, I WON'T BE BEFORE YOU LONG.
UM, BUT I, I MEAN IT, UH, SINCERE.
I'M, I'M SO HONORED, UH, TO BE HERE TODAY, CERTAINLY TO BE AMONGST THIS, UH, AUGUST, UH, GROUP OF HONOREES AND ALL THOSE THAT HAVE GATHERED ABSOLUTELY TO BE ABLE TO, UH, REPRESENT, UH, MY BELOVED FRATERNITY AND CERTAINLY MY CHURCH, AND EVEN MY SCHOOLS.
ONLY THING I'D WANT TO SHARE IS, UH, THAT I'M SO GLAD AND SO BLESSED BY OUR ORGANIZATIONS.
WE HAVE SO MANY ORGANIZATIONS, NOT ONLY THE DIVINE NINE AND THE PANHELLENIC, UH, COUNCIL WIDELY, UH, BUT WE HAVE ALL KINDS OF ORGANIZATIONS, UH, THAT WE AS BLACK PEOPLE IN PARTICULAR HAVE, UH, AND THAT WE CELEBRATE, WE'LL FIND A REASON TO GET TOGETHER.
UM, MY HOPE AND PRAYER THOUGH IS THAT, UH, IN ADDITION TO OUR ORGANIZATIONS, UH, WE WILL HAVE SOME ORGANIZATION, UH, IN LIGHT OF ALL THAT WE FACE.
IT'S MY HOPE, UH, THAT WE WILL FIND WAYS TO CONTINUE TO BAND TOGETHER.
WE SAW, UH, EVEN, WHAT IS IT, JUST ABOUT A WEEK AGO, UH, WHEN, UH, FOLK DECIDED, UH, THAT WE WEREN'T GONNA SPEND FOR A DAY.
WE SAW THAT EVEN JUST THAT ONE DAY, THE EFFECT THAT IT COULD HAVE.
AND SO MY WHOLE PRAYER IS THAT WE CONTINUE TO FIGHT.
AS WE CONTINUE TO FIGHT THIS FIGHT THAT'S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE.
UH, THAT INDEED WE WOULD BAND TOGETHER AND FIND WAYS TO USE OUR COLLECTIVE STRENGTH, WHICH ABSOLUTELY
[00:35:01]
CAN CHANGE THE WORLD AS DEMONSTRATED BY OUR ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE REPRESENTED HERE AND AS, AS DEMONSTRATED EACH AND EVERY DAY, UH, AS WE SERVE IN SINGULAR EXCELLENCE, EVEN IN OUR COMMUNAL WITNESS.UH, SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR, UH, THIS OPPORTUNITY AND IT'S SUCH AN HONOR TO BE ABLE TO BE, UH, CELEBRATED TOGETHER.
AS WE CELEBRATE OUR ORGANIZATIONS, WE MUST HAVE ORGANIZATION.
WAIT, TWEET, TWEET EVEN A THING NO MORE.
THAT'S IBLE THAT DON'T EVEN SOUND RIGHT.
SEE, LET'S JUST HOLD ON TO THE THINGS.
UM, I'D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE WE HAVE MR. MICHAEL ZA OF THE NEW JERSEY MOTION PICTURE AND TELEVISION COMMISSION WHO'S HERE WITH US TODAY.
A ROUND OF APPLAUSE, BRINGING INCREDIBLE RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES TO OUR STATE AND CERTAINLY THE CITY OF NORCA.
WE'VE BEEN A GREAT RECIPIENT OF THAT.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK AND YOUR SERVICE.
I'D LIKE TO BRING UP ANOTHER INCREDIBLE BROTHER WHO LET ME GO AND TALK TO MICHAEL BECAUSE I NEED TO PITCH A MOVIE FOR THIS BROTHER RIGHT HERE,
YOU MAKE YOUR WAY UP HERE FOR ME, BROTHER
WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THIS A FEW NOT TOO LONG AGO, ABOUT HOW WE FIRST MET.
I THINK I HAD JUST, MAYBE I HAD JUST GRADUATED COLLEGE, OR I WAS IN COLLEGE.
YOU WERE JUST GRADUATING AND WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT THE NEXT DECADE.
A FRIENDSHIP OF SISTERHOOD, OF BROTHERHOOD OF SERVICE WOULD LOOK LIKE.
AND SO IT'S AN HONOR TO CELEBRATE YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE EVERY DAY AS AN EDUCATOR FROM HOW YOU USE YOUR PLATFORM TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUNG PEOPLE AND BLACK MEN IN PARTICULAR CAN TALK ABOUT WELLNESS AND HEALTH AND CARE.
AND FRANKLY, FOR YOUR HEART, THAT CAN'T REALLY BE QUALIFIED OR MEASURED, BUT WHO AND WHAT RADIATES AND TOUCHES SO MANY IN WAYS THAT PEOPLE CAN ONLY BEGIN TO IMAGINE.
IT'S AN HONOR TO CELEBRATE YOU, NOT JUST FOR WHO YOU ARE AS A BROTHER OF MEGA SCI-FI FRATERNITY, BUT WHO YOU ARE AS A BROTHER IN THE WORK AND IN THE MOVEMENT ON BEHALF OF YOUNG WOMEN.
I AM, I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF, OF SERVING AS A FOUNDER, CEO OF A YOUNG WOMEN'S ORGANIZATION CALLED SHE WINS.
SO WE WORK WITH YOUNG GIRLS AND, AND GENDER EXPANSIVE YOUTH.
AND TYRONE FROM DAY ONE HAS BEEN A BROTHER AND A MENTOR FOR OUR GIRLS BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT FOR OUR GIRLS TO HAVE POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH BROTHERS, RIGHT? TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE MEN WHO LOVE AND CARE FOR THEM AND SHOW UP FOR THEM.
AND SO, WHETHER IT'S FROM OUR YOUNG LADIES AND SHE WINS TO THE YOUNG LADIES AND YOUNG MEN IN THIS CITY IN THE GREATER SAVIOR JERSEY, IT'S AN HONOR TO CELEBRATE YOU TODAY FOR WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU DO.
FIRST LEMME START OFF SAYING, HAPPY WOMAN'S MONTH.
LADIES, ALWAYS GOTTA START THERE.
UM, TOOK ME A MINUTE TO, UH, WHEN I WAS EVEN JUST WALKING DOWN A HALL AND JUST SEEING EVERYBODY'S PICTURE AND JUST LIKE, JUST SAYING, WOW, LIKE THIS, THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING.
UH, I AM PROUD TO SAY THAT I'M NOT A T-SHIRT WEARER.
AND, UH, EVERYBODY THAT'S IN THE FRATERNITY AND SORORITY, I ALREADY KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
WE DIDN'T COME INTO THIS ORGANIZATION JUST TO WEAR LETTERS ON OUR CHEST.
AND, UH, I'M JUST THANKFUL THAT I CAN LIVE BY THAT.
UH, COMING OUTTA COLLEGE AT LINCOLN UNIVERSITY IN PENNSYLVANIA, UH, LU LINCOLN PRIDE, FIRST HBCU.
SEE, I WASN'T EVEN TRYING TO GET THERE, BUT WE WAS ABOUT TO TAKE, WE WAS ABOUT TO TAKE IT THERE.
UM, I SLEEK, LIVE, BREATHE, NEWARK, NEW JERSEY SINCE I WAS A, A LEGISLATIVE AIDE FOR A FORMER COUNCILMAN RONALD C. RICE SINCE I WAS A, A FORMER WESTWARD AIDE TO THE HONORABLE MAYOR RAJA BARAKA SINCE I JOINED LEADERSHIP NEWARK, UH, CLASS OF 2013.
SO YOU GOT ALL OF US UP HERE,
IT WAS ALWAYS ABOUT EVERYBODY ELSE.
UH, AND JUST LOOKING AT EVERYBODY
[00:40:01]
IN THE ROOM FOR EVEN WORKING WITH IN THE MAYOR AND HILLSIDE DOING YOGA AND MEDITATION FOR PEOPLE OUT THERE TO, UH, JUST WORKING IN THE SCHOOLS WITH PROJECT ALPHA, UH, DOING YOGA AND MEDITATION WITHIN THE SCHOOL WITH Y'ALL PROGRAM.IT JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT LETTERS YOU ARE, IT'S ABOUT THE BROTHER AND THE SISTERHOOD.
AND THAT'S ALL I CARED ABOUT SINCE I BECAME AN PARTY ORGANIZATION.
THE REASON WHY I'M, UH, I'M TEARING UP A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, UH, THERE'S BEEN SOME TRYING TIMES THIS, UH, THIS YEAR.
UH, I JUST, UH, MY UNCLE JUST TRANSITIONED, UH, LAST WEEK.
MY MOM'S BEEN IN AND OUTTA THE HOSPITAL, UH, AND I KNEW SHE WOULD'VE BEEN HERE.
Y'ALL BETTER, Y'ALL BETTER SHOW MY SON SOME LOVE.
AND, UM, BECAUSE LIKE, JUST COMING, JUST COMING FROM THE NUMBER BLOCKS OF, UH, OF THE WEST WARD, LIKE NOBODY EVEN THOUGHT I WAS EVEN GOING TO BE HERE.
NOBODY EVEN THOUGHT I'M, I'M THE OLDEST OUTTA MY GENERATION.
AND JUST TO SET THE PLATFORM OF NOT ONLY JUST BEING A MAN OF OMEGA SAPPHIRE FRATERNITY INCORPORATED, BUT A GRADUATING BROTHER OF OMEGA SAPPHIRE FRATERNITY INCORPORATED, BECAUSE THEY THINK JUST BECAUSE WE GREEK, WE CAN'T GRADUATE AS WELL.
AND THEN WHEN WE COME BACK INTO OUR COMMUNITIES, WE DO WHAT WE SAY.
AND I'M JUST HONORED TO BE WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.
AND I'M NOT JUST ACCEPTING THIS WAR FROM MYSELF.
I'M ACCEPTING THIS FOR THE WHOLE DIVINE NINE BECAUSE I COULDN'T BE HERE OUTSIDE OF JUST MY FRATERNITY.
THERE'S A REASON WHY IT'S CALLED GREEK UNITY.
'CAUSE I DON'T CARE WHAT ORGANIZATION IS, IF YOU ARE, ARE ABOUT A MISSION, IF YOU'RE HERE TO SERVE, IF YOU'RE HERE TO DO GOD'S WORK, THEN THAT'S WHERE I'M GONNA BE WALKING IN.
SO I DON'T WANNA MAKE ON A GOOD, UH, UH, ON A BIG RANT.
MADAME COMMISSIONER, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE A PART OF YOUR YOUNG BABIES OF SHE WINS.
THANK YOU TO NEWARK FOR LIKE, I NEVER EVEN THOUGHT I WAS GONNA GET AN AWARD.
'CAUSE JUST LIKE SIOBHAN SAID, THE AWARD ALWAYS COMES EVERY TIME WE WORK UP AND SERVE.
WE DON'T LOOK FOR NO PLAQUE, NO CERTIFICATE, NO RINGS, NO NONE OF THAT.
BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, I WISH THE CAMERAS COULD REALLY COME AND SEE WHAT THE REAL WORK IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IN NORTH NEW JERSEY.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY THAT'S HERE.
EVERYBODY FROM THE DIVINE NINE TO ANYBODY THAT WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT GREEK LIFE OR YOU LOOKING AT EXCELLENCE RIGHT NOW.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AND I PRAY THAT WE CAN KEEP THIS UNITY GOING, NOT JUST BY A WAR, BY STAYING 10 TOES DOWN IN WHAT WE SAY.
JUST A THANK YOU TYRONE DAY, Y'ALL.
AND HE SAYS IT BETTER THAN I'M GONNA SAY IT, BUT I'M, I'M GONNA ATTEMPT LIKE WHAT HE BE SAYING.
UM, HE DON'T JUST DO THIS WORK ONE DAY, SOME DAYS IT'S EVERY DAY.
HIS LAST NAME IS DAY FOR A REASON.
HIS BROTHER, Y'ALL CAUGHT THAT.
I KNEW I WAS GONNA GET Y'ALL GONNA GET IT EVENTUALLY.
IT'S AN EVERYDAY TYPE OF MOVEMENT FOR HIM, FOR ME, FOR US.
THAT'S WHY WE ARE HERE PACKING OUT THIS ROOM ON A WEDNESDAY, A HOLY DAY AND MULTIPLE FAITHS.
WE DO THIS EVERY DAY AND WE CELEBRATE US EVERY SINGLE DAY.
IT'S MY HONOR TO BRING UP SOMEONE WHO I COULD LITERALLY TALK ABOUT EVERY DAY FOR HER WORK.
NOT ONLY POURING INTO ME, BUT SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE ACROSS THE CITY OF NEWARK, ACROSS THE COUNTRY, THROUGH HER SERVICE AT THE ALL STARS PROJECT, THROUGH HER ARTISTRY AS A DANCER AND CREATIVE IN FACT, WHICH IS LIKE ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE FIRST REALLY GOT TO KNOW EACH OTHER.
I'LL TELL A FUN STORY AS YOU MAKE YOUR WAY UP FOR, I GIVE THE FULL SPIEL, BUT MISS SHADAY MCDANIEL OF DELTA SIPA THEATER SORORITY UP TO THE PANEL.
SO THESE STORIES OF CONNECTIONS, I'M LITERALLY NOT REALIZING UNTIL THE MOMENT THAT I HAVE TO SHARE.
SO YOU WOULD REMEMBER THIS IS MAYBE 2010 YEARS AGO.
I ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING DO.
SO WE HAVE GIRLS AND SHE WINS WHO ARE PART OF THE EVERY YEAR, UH, CITYWIDE TALENT SHELL THAT THE ALL STARS PROJECT DOES.
IF YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE ALL STARS PROJECT, YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ALL STARS PROJECT FREE, INCREDIBLE WORK FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.
IT'S A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION, BUT THE NEWARK BASED ONE IS LED BY NONE OTHER THAN SADE.
AND THEY DO EVERYTHING FROM GETTING OUR YOUNG PEOPLE READY FOR THEATER AND PERFORMANCES
[00:45:01]
IN ALL ASPECTS OF CREATIVE ARTS TO GETTING THEM PAID INTERNSHIPS AND SOME OF THE TOP, UH, FIRMS AND ORGANIZATIONS IN THE STATE.AND SO OUR GIRLS ARE IN THIS, UH, TALENT SHOW WITH THE ALL STARS PROJECT.
AND IT'S A SNOWSTORM THAT NIGHT, YOU REMEMBER? YES.
AND WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THE BABY SAFELY TO THE TALENT SHOW 'CAUSE THEY'VE BEEN PRACTICING FOR WEEKS WITH HER.
'CAUSE YOU CHOREOGRAPHED IT, RIGHT? SURE.
DID SHE CHOREOGRAPHED ANYBODY HAVE A DAUGHTER OR GRANDDAUGHTER, THESE WHO LOVES TO DANCE? YES.
SO Y'ALL KNOW HOW SERIOUS OUR BABIES ARE GONNA TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO DANCE.
THEY'RE LIKE, WE WANNA GO, WE WANNA DANCE, WE WANNA DO THE THING.
AND SO MISS SHADAY, MISS SHAVONNE'S DAUGHTER RE WAS A PART OF THE DANCE.
MY MOM DANA, LIKE WE'RE ALL WORKING TIRELESSLY TO MAKE SURE THESE BABIES HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DANCE, BUT ALSO GET HOME SAFELY.
AND SO WHEN I THINK OF HOW WE CELEBRATE YOU TODAY AS SOMEONE WHO WORKS TIRELESSLY TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR CHILDREN HAVE SPACES TO BE, TO PLAY, TO DANCE, AND A WORLD TRYING TO ROB THEM OF THEIR CHILDHOOD, AND YET YOU'D NEVER FIND IT ROBBERY, TO ALSO POUR INTO THE NEXT GENERATION OF OTHER YOUNG WOMEN LIKE MYSELF AND THE YOUNG WOMEN OF THE DELTAS AND ALL THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO TOUCHED YOU.
IT'S AN, IT'S AN AN HONOR TO CELEBRATE YOU TODAY.
IT'S AN HONOR TO CELEBRATE YOU TODAY AS SOMEONE WHO GIVES EVERYONE ELSE SPACE TO DANCE, TO BE, TO PLAY.
IT'S AN HONOR TO CELEBRATE YOU ON A DAY LIKE THIS ONE.
I PROMISE YOU, I I REALLY WON'T BELONG.
'CAUSE I REALLY WANT US TO GIVE A, A STANDING OVATION FOR THE COMMISSIONER.
YES, PLEASE, PLEASE GIVE IT UP FOR DORIAN.
YOU HAVE BEEN, YOU HAVE JUST BEEN INSTRUMENTAL TO MY LIFE, TO THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT I REPRESENT.
IT'S SO FUNNY HOW YOU SAY THAT.
UM, THE WORK THAT I LEAD IS INSPIRING THE MOMENT I MET A DORIAN 10 YEARS AGO AND SHE INTRODUCED, SHE WINS TO ME.
AND I'M LOOKING ACROSS THE TABLE, I'M LIKE, WHAT IS SHE LIKE 12
AND SHE INSPIRED ME TO CONTINUE GROWING AND DEVELOPING AND LEANING INTO OUR CRAFT AND LEANING INTO LOVING OUR GIRLS AND LEANING INTO LOVING OUR COMMUNITY.
AND WHILE I'M NOT A NEWARK NATIVE, I MIGHT AS WELL BE BECAUSE I SPEND ALL OF MY LIFE AND MY LOVE POURING INTO NEWARK, ANDEX COUNTY.
I LOVE, AS YOU SAID, PERFORMANCE AND THE WAYS IN WHICH IT SUPPORTS PEOPLE TO GROW IN NEW WAYS.
IT'S WHY I FELL IN LOVE WITH DELTA SIGMA THETA SORORITY INCORPORATED ON THE CAMPUS OF HOWARD UNIVERSITY.
AND AND IT'S, IT'S BECAUSE THE ACTIVISM, THE WAY THAT ART AND PERFORMANCE REALLY GALVANIZES AND MOBILIZES CHANGE.
IT IS ONE OF THE MOST, I THINK, IMPORTANT INNATE, UM, HUMAN RIGHTS THAT WE HAVE.
AND I LOVE THAT I GET TO SHARE THAT WITH YOUNG PEOPLE.
I LOVE THAT I GET TO SHARE THAT IN THE WORK THAT I DO.
SHOUT OUT TO THE ALL STARS PROJECT THAT'S HERE TODAY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING OUT TO SUPPORT ME.
AND AGAIN, TO MY BELOVED SORORITY AND, AND THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE ME THAT PAVED THE WAY AND, UH, CHOSE ME TO CARRY ON THIS MISSION OF SISTERHOOD.
BUT OVERALL, ESPECIALLY IN DAYS LIKE THIS, WHEN WE'RE IN A SOCIAL CRISIS AND PEOPLE ASK ME ALL THE TIME, LIKE, HOW DO YOU KEEP GOING? WHY DO YOU KEEP FIGHTING SO HARD? AND I'M LIKE, DO YOU SEE D NINE? DO YOU SEE HOW WE BE SHOWING UP IN THESE SPACES, IN THESE ROOMS, ON THESE CAMERAS, IN THESE ZOOMS? I AM SO FIRED UP BY OUR WORK, OUR DIVINITY, AND I'M SO PROUD TO BE A PART OF THIS COLORFUL, AMAZING GROUP OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT GO OUT EVERY DAY TO FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS.
I'M SORRY MADAM COMMISSIONER
LET'S KEEP THIS MOVEMENT GOING.
SPEAKING OF EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE WHO DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS, ESPECIALLY ON BEHALF OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE EVERY SINGLE DAY.
ZAIRE OF THE PHI BETA SIGMA FOR FRATERNITY TO THE PODIUM.
[00:50:01]
NOW WE CAN CALL HIM DOCTOR, PRINCIPAL, EDUCATOR LEADER, BUT I'D ARGUE THAT SOME OF THE BABIES WHO CHERISH HIM MOST LIKE TO CALL HIM COACH BECAUSE OF WHAT HE DOES SUPPORT INTO OUR YOUNG PEOPLE ON AND OFF THE COURT.WE WERE REFLECTING ABOUT THIS EARLIER, HOW THE, WHEN WE FIRST EVEN MET.
AND WHEN I THINK OF WHO YOU ARE THEN WHO YOU WERE AND WHO YOU ARE NOW, IT IS THE SAME BROTHER WHO WAS STALWART AND CONSISTENT AND IN MAKING SURE WE SHOW UP FOR OUR KIDS NO MATTER WHAT THE STORMS ARE, NO MATTER WHAT THE TERRAIN IS, MAKING SURE WE KEEP OUR EYES ON THE PRIZE AND THE PRIZE BEING OUR YOUNG PEOPLE KNOWING THAT THEY ARE THE PRIZE.
ZAIRE, IT'S MY HONOR TO CELEBRATE YOU TODAY.
NOT JUST ON BEHALF OF THE BROTHERS AND, AND THE THE VALUES OF FIVE BETA SIGMA FRATERNITY THAT YOU REPRESENT, BUT FOR WHO YOU ARE TO OUR YOUNG PEOPLE, WHO YOU ARE TO THE NEXT GENERATION, AND CERTAINLY WHO YOU ARE TO ME AS A BROTHER IN THIS WORK, IN EDUCATION AND IN THE MOVEMENTS.
AN HONOR TO CELEBRATE YOU TODAY, MAN, THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S ONE HECK OF AN INTRODUCTION RIGHT THERE.
MADE ME FEEL LIKE I DID SOMETHING
UH, WELL, FIRST AND FOREMOST, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AND UM, I'M SURE A BUNCH OF PEOPLE HAVE SAID THIS, BUT YOU ARE TRULY A RISING STAR IN THIS SPACE.
IT'S KIND OF SCARY 'CAUSE YOU'RE YOUNG, BUT YOU'RE JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, RIGHT.
SOME STARS RISE, SOME STARS BURN OUT.
YOU, YOU STILL CLIMBING, LIKE YEAH.
SO, UM, I'M, I'M GONNA DO MY BEST NOT TO BE LONG WINDED.
YOU STILL KEEP THAT HEAD SHARP.
SO YOU REMEMBER ME WHEN I WAS YES.
MESSING AROUND WITH MR. PERRY AND MS. BATTLE AND ALL OF THEM, BROTHER.
I, I STILL SEE YOUR FACE AS A YOUNG MAN IN NEWARK.
I AM TRULY HAPPY, SHOCKED, YOU KNOW, UM, I'M NEVER ONE TO GET THE CALL A LOT OF TIMES.
AND LIKE THE BROTHER SAID, I REALLY DON'T ASK FOR IT.
YOU KNOW, LIKE, UM, I GOT A CURVE IN MY BACK FROM DOING THE WORK.
YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE LOOKING UP, SEEING WHO LOOKING AT THEM.
THAT'S JUST WHAT WE ARE HERE FOR.
UM, BUT I WILL SAY THAT I THINK I FIGURED IT OUT, RIGHT? UM, YOU GOT MY DAD IN THE BACK.
THAT'S MY BIG TIME ROLE MODEL.
WHERE'S POPS? OH, THERE YOU GO, RIGHT THERE.
POPS IS THE COOLEST MAN IN THE WORLD.
YOU KNOW, HE GOT THAT NEW HEART IN HIM NOW.
SO WHEN, WHEN DAD WAS GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS, HE USED TO ALWAYS SAY, HE HAS THIS SAYING CALLED LET GO AND LET GOD, RIGHT? SO, UH, PJ MORGAN, I BELIEVE HAS THE BEST VERSION.
YOU KNOW, DON'T ARGUE WITH ME, ARGUE WITH SOMEBODY ELSE.
I LIKE PJ MORGAN'S VERSIONS OF LET GO AND LET GOD.
AND I WILL SAY THAT I REALLY FIGURED IT OUT.
UM, LIFE IS EASY WHEN YOU WANT WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOU.
I'M TRY SEE THIS, THIS A BROTHER THAT'S SUPPOSED TO GIVE THE WORD.
I'M JUST TELLING YOU WHAT I FEEL.
WHAT I FEEL IS THAT WHEN, WHEN YOU DON'T WANT WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOU, YOU BEAT YOUR CHEST AND SAY, LIFE'S HARD AND I'M STRUGGLING, BUT I'M GONNA GET BY.
NO, YOU JUST DOING THE WRONG THING AND IT'S JUST NOT GOING TO WORK FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE STUBBORN AND YOU THINK YOU'RE MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU REALLY ARE.
BUT WHEN YOU REALIZE THAT YOU ARE TO BE USED, BECAUSE THAT MEANS YOU'RE USEFUL, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S A, A, A NAME OF A SLAVE IN THE BIBLE.
AND HE, HE'S GIVEN THAT NAME BECAUSE HE WAS BELIEVED TO BE USEFUL BY PAUL.
WHEN YOU COME FROM A STANDPOINT OF BEING USEFUL, YOU DON'T FEEL USED.
WHEN YOU COME FROM WHEN, WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU COME FROM A PLACE WHERE YOU ARE USEFUL AND YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU'RE USEFUL, YOU HAVE PURPOSE, YOU DON'T FEEL USED, YOU FEEL PURPOSE, YOU FEEL INTENTIONAL, YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE THERE FOR A REASON.
AND WHAT I FIGURED OUT IS THAT I'VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING THAT I WANTED TO DO IN LIFE.
NEWSFLASH NEVER WANTED TO BE A TRACK COACH.
AND I THINK ME AND GOD GOT THAT ONE
[00:55:01]
BOTH SAID, YES, I NEVER WANNA DO ANY OF THOSE THINGS, BUT I REALIZED THAT I WAS ALWAYS CONFRONTED WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE THOSE THINGS.YOU KNOW? UH, I LOST A BET IN COLLEGE, WHICH MEANT I HAD TO COME BACK AND DEDICATE THE FIRST 10 YEARS OF MY LIFE TO MY CITY.
IT'S A CRAZY BET, RIGHT? IF I WOULD'VE WON A BET, I WOULD'VE GOT A CAR.
I LOST A BET, MY MAN OF MY WORD.
I CAME BACK, TOOK MY MATH TEACHER'S JOB AT ACE HIGH SCHOOL.
AND THEN FROM THERE I WAS JUST STUCK IN EDUCATION.
THEN PEOPLE WANTED ME TO COACH TRACK, STARTED COACHING TRACK.
UM, MY DAD LOVES THE FACT THAT I ALWAYS WIN.
UM, I'VE BEEN IN HIS ROOM MULTIPLE TIMES GETTING, UH, AWARDS SUCH SUCH AS THAT FOR TRACK AND FIELD.
BUT IT'S NOT BECAUSE I THINK THAT I'M GOOD AT IT.
I AM THE SCREWDRIVER USED PROPERLY ON SCREWS.
I'M NOT THE SCREWDRIVER TRYING TO BE A HAMMER.
YOU KNOW, I'M NOT TRYING TO BE SOMETHING THAT GOD DOESN'T WANT ME TO BE.
SO FOR ME, I EMBRACE MY DAD'S PHRASE.
HE SAYS IT ALL THE TIME, LET GO AND LET GOD.
AND WHEN I DO THAT, THINGS JUST HAPPEN TO GET OUTTA THE WAY.
AND THINGS JUST HAPPEN TO WORK.
AND BECAUSE OF THOSE THINGS, I GUESS I'M BEING ACKNOWLEDGED TODAY AND I APPRECIATE IT.
BUT IT'S LIKE THE BROTHER SAID, I'M USEFUL AND I DON'T MIND BEING USED BY MY COMMUNITY.
I DON'T MIND BEING USED BY MY FAMILY.
AND I JUST TRULY BELIEVE THAT, YOU KNOW, GOD GOT IT RIGHT.
HOW CAN I LOSE? THE CITY WINS, THE COMMUNITY WINS AND IT WORKS.
AND I KNOW WE HAVE, UM, SOME CLERGY IN THE ROOM GIVING REMARKS OR BEING HONORED, BUT MAYBE WE GOT ANOTHER MINISTER IN TRAINING OR DIG DIGGING, LOADING SOMEWHERE NOW BECAUSE THAT WAS A WHOLE SERVICE AND I DIDN'T EVEN BREAK MY, MY TOPIC ENVELOPE.
AND YOU USED A, A TERM IRONICALLY IN YOUR REMARKS.
YOU STARTED SOME OF THEM ABOUT ME AND YOU USED A TERM STAR TO DESCRIBE ME.
UM, AND IF WORD WERE GONNA EVEN ATTRIBUTE THAT TO ME, YOU GOTTA TALK ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO, THERE'S A POEM CALLED STAR POLISHER.
THE PEOPLE WHO POLISH THE STAR SO THAT THEY CAN SHINE BRIGHT.
AND I CAN'T THINK OF STAR POLISHING WITHOUT FIRST THING ABOUT MY BIGGEST STAR POLISHER AND THE FIRST AND FOREMOST ONE, WHICH IS MY MOTHER, DANA MURRAY, WHO'S HERE WITH US TODAY.
BUT I ALSO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE CHURCH THAT RAISED ME AND NURTURED ME AS A BABY ONE FROM WHEN I WAS A BABY STAR.
I SEE MY SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER, THE BACK
AND WE HONORED MISS HUE EARLIER.
YOU RECOGNIZE ONE OF YOUR OWN, UM, STAR POLISHERS, MISS VIVIAN CARTER, UM, AND ANOTHER STAR POLISHER WHO HAPPENS TO BE A PART OF THE GREAT, GREAT COMMUNITY OF ST.
A ME CHURCH IS OUR NEXT HONOREE.
MISS VESTA GODWIN CLARK OF THE ZETA PHI BETA GAMMA KAPPA GAMMA OMICRON ZETA CHAPTERS.
A WOMAN WHO HAS NOT ONLY HELPED POLISH THIS BUDDING STAR OR BABY STAR BEFORE YOU TODAY, BUT SO MANY GENERATIONS OF INCREDIBLE YOUNG PEOPLE AND HEARTS AND MINDS THAT HAVE MADE THEIR WAY THROUGH ST.
JAMES A ME CHURCH MADE THEIR WAY THROUGH NEWARK, MADE THEIR WAY THROUGH THE COUNTY OF ESSEX, AND FRANKLY, THE FAMILIES AND CHILDREN EVERY DAY, WHO YOU SERVE AS A DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL SERVICES THAT YOU'LL, YOU'LL GET TO IN A LITTLE BIT, UM, ON FORMALLY KNOWN AS HIGH STREET, CURRENTLY KNOWN AS MARTIN LUTHER KING BOULEVARD, MEETING THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS OF OUR CHILDREN AND OUR FAMILIES EVERY SINGLE DAY.
THANK YOU FOR HELPING LIVE OUT GOD'S CALL FOR US TO NOT JUST SHINE OURSELVES, BUT TO MAKE SURE THAT OTHER PEOPLE SHINE TOO.
IT'S AN HONOR TO CELEBRATE YOU TODAY, MS. VEST.
[01:00:03]
SO SHE WAS ONE OF OUR ST.JAMES BABIES AND EVERY TIME OPPORTUNITY FOR HER TO GET IN FRONT OF THE CONGREGATION TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT OR WHATEVER SHE DID.
AND SO THIS IS THE RESULT OF THE CHURCH BABY.
SO I'D LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU, UM, COMMISSIONER FOR, UM, THIS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, THE FACT THAT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE ESSEX COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS THAT WE RECOGNIZE THE DIVINE NINE.
SO, UM, FOR THOSE OF DON'T KNOW, ST.
JAMES SOCIAL SERVICE CORPORATION IS RIGHT DOWN THE STREET, TWO BLOCKS AWAY.
IF YOU EVER DRIVE BY AND YOU SEE A LINE OUTSIDE, THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
YOU KNOW, THAT BUILDING WHERE YOU SEE THE LINE OUTSIDE, WELL THAT'S MY BUILDING.
I HAVE BEEN BLESSED TO BE CHOSEN TO SERVE AS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR I'M IN MY 25TH YEAR.
AND IT HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN EASY.
IT HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN EASY, UH, BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON UNTIL COVID PEOPLE DIDN'T REALIZE THAT PEOPLE NEED FOOD.
AND WHEN COVI HAPPENED, PEOPLE OTHER THAN BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE NEEDED FOOD.
AND THEN THAT'S WHEN FUNDING BECAME AVAILABLE.
FUNDING LIKE WE NEVER HAD BEFORE.
WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN A STRUGGLING, STRUGGLING, STRUGGLING AGENCY WHERE MY STAFF AND I HAVE BEEN UNEMPLOYED, BUT CONTINUE TO COME TO WORK, TO VOLUNTEER, TO SERVE THE LEAST OF THESE.
SO COVID, BUT NOW COVID IS OVER.
YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED TO KNOW THAT THERE IS NO FUNDING THAT GOES DIRECTLY TO STANDALONE SOUP KITCHENS AND FOOD PANTRIES IN THE BUDGET IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, IN THE COUNTY OF ESSEX, IN THE CITY OF NEWARK.
SO HOW DO WE SURVIVE GOD FAITH? THE LATE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR SHEILA OLIVER, WHEN SHE WAS THE COMMISSION OF THE DCA, SHE KNEW WHAT WE DID.
SHE BELIEVED IN US AND GAVE US A OPPORTUNITY TO GET FUNDING FROM SOURCES THAT WE HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET BEFORE.
BUT THIS IS A TIME WHERE IT'S CRITICAL BECAUSE THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, NONPROFITS LIKE MYSELF, WE HAVE BEEN IN TURMOIL BECAUSE OF, FIRST IT WAS ICE AND OUR UNDOCUMENTED, UM, CLIENTS, UH, AND THEN IT WAS THE FREEZE OF FUNDING.
SO WE DON'T KNOW THIS FUNDING THAT HELPS KEEP US ALIVE TO DO WHAT WE DO AND WHETHER THEY'RE STILL GOING TO BE FUNDING.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS, 'CAUSE I AM, UH, UH, AS YOU SEE ASH WEDNESDAY, I AM A MEMBER OF THE FAITH COMMUNITY.
MY STAFF AND I, WE PRAY EVERY DAY, FIVE DAYS A WEEK AT THE END OF THE DAY.
AND WE DO THAT BECAUSE WE CAN'T GET CONFUSED WITH THE CHAOS AND THE CONFUSION.
WE JUST CONTINUE TO DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO AND TRY AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THE FOOD, THE DIAPERS, THE UM, THE FORMULA, WHATEVER IT IS TO THOSE WHO NEED IT.
SO I WANNA SAY THANK YOU AGAIN.
I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, MY HUSBAND IS HERE.
HE'S A PROUD MEMBER OF PHI BETA SIGMA FRATERNITY INCORPORATED.
UM, MY SOROS, UM, SO I LIVE IN ESSEX COUNTY, BUT I CHARTERED RUTGERS UNIVERSITY AND ADA OMICRON ZETA CHAPTER IN PLAINFIELD HAS BEEN MY HOME FOR 40.
I I'LL BE 45 YEARS A ZETA IN TWO MONTHS.
AND SO TWO OF MY SOROS FROM HOZ ARE HERE, WHICH INCLUDES THE MAYOR.
MY BOARD MEMBERS, A COUPLE OF MY BOARD MEMBERS ARE HERE.
I HAVE THE BEST BOARD THAT I COULD POSSIBLY HAVE BECAUSE THEY SUPPORT ME IN EVERYTHING THAT I DO.
AND AGAIN, WE DON'T DO WHAT WE DO TO BE RECOGNIZED, BUT SOMETIMES WHEN SOMEBODY SEES YOU, IT MAKES YOU FEEL REALLY GOOD.
[01:05:02]
THANK YOU.AND WE'RE HONORING HER ON MAY 3RD.
I FEEL LIKE I SEE A LOT OF MY ST JAMES FOLKS IN THE BUILDING.
SEE, MISS DOES I SEE EVERYONE.
THERE WAS NEVER A YOUTH PARTY WITHOUT YOU ON THE TURNTABLES WITH KIRK FRANKLIN ETTE BLASTING.
IT'S REALLY, IT FEELS REALLY, UH, REALLY WARM AND REALLY BEAUTIFUL TO BE AROUND A VILLAGE THAT THAT'S NOT ONLY MY VILLAGE BUT THE VILLAGE OF SO MANY IN OUR COMMUNITY.
IT IS MY HONOR AND PRIVILEGE TO BRING UP OUR LAST, SECOND TO LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, HONOREE OF THE EVENING, MS. BEVERLY KENNEDY OF THE SIGMA KAMA ROW SORORITY, IOTA, ALPHA SIGMA, NORTHERN NEW JERSEY CHAPTER TO THE PODIUM.
NOW YOU CAN'T TALK ABOUT IRVINGTON.
YOU CAN'T TALK ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE, YOU CAN'T TALK ABOUT THE BRIDGE WITHOUT NONE OTHER THAN MISS BEVERLY, SOMEONE WHO'S ACTUALLY KNOWN ME SINCE I WAS LIKE A BABY.
BUT NOW THAT I'M LIKE A BIG BABY WHO'S LIKE WORKING WITH OTHER BABIES WHO COME OUT OF THE GREAT CITY OF IRVINGTON OR IRVINGTON HIGH SCHOOL OF THE BRIDGE.
AND I MENTIONED YOUR NAME OR I MENTIONED THE NAME OF SOME OF THE OTHER SISTERS AND BROTHERS IN THAT BUILDING, THAT THAT THEY, THEIR SMILES LIGHT UP AND THEY KNOW THAT THEY ARE SEEN AND THEY'RE TAKEN CARE OF BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU DO EVERY SINGLE DAY.
IT'S AN HONOR TO CELEBRATE YOU.
LIKE ALL OF THE HONOREES HAVE SAID, NOT BECAUSE YOU ASK FOR FLOWERS, NOT BECAUSE YOU ASK FOR THE AWARDS, BUT 'CAUSE THE WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE.
IT'S AN HONOR TO CELEBRATE YOU TODAY AND ALL THE INCREDIBLE SISTERS WHO YOU REPRESENT.
I ALSO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE OUR COMMISSIONER, WAYNE RICHARDSON, WHO IS IN THE BUILDING JOINING US TODAY.
STAND UP SO WE CAN SEE YOU BROTHER MAN FROM THE MIGHTY SOUTH WARD OF NEWARK.
AND A FEARLESS CHAMPION NOT ONLY OF OUR CITY, BUT OF IRVINGTON AND ALL OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT MAKE US UP.
I'M KIND OF SHORT SO I HAD TO BRING IT DOWN A LITTLE BIT.
BECAUSE WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT IRVINGTON, SO LET ME BE, MAKE IT CLEAR.
I LIVE IN NEWARK AND I REPRESENT NEWARK AND I'M HONORED TO BE HERE FROM NEWARK.
BUT I'M ALSO HONORED TO SERVE IRVINGTON.
IRVINGTON SOMETIMES GET OVERLOOKED BECAUSE WE ARE SO SMALL, 2.5 MILES.
BUT WE HAVE CHILDREN THAT ARE AMAZING.
YEAH, BECAUSE NEWARK, YOU GET A LOT OF LOVE
BUT I HAVE BEEN AT THE BRIDGE IRVINGTON SCHOOL BASED PROGRAM AND WE CALL IT THE AMANI CENTER FOR FAITH.
I HAVE SEEN, I HAVE SERVED OVER THREE GENERATIONS OF FAMILIES AND I HAVE SEEN THEM.
AND WHEN I SAY I SEEN THEM THERE, I HAVE SEEN THEM.
WHEN PEOPLE SAY YOU WILL NOT MAKE IT.
AND THEN THEY COME BACK 10 YEARS LATER AND SAY, I STARTED MY OWN BUSINESS.
AND I JUST SIT THERE AND SAY, LORD, I THANK YOU.
SO I WANT YOU TO KNOW I DON'T DO THIS BECAUSE I MAKE A LOT OF MONEY 'CAUSE WE DON'T
BUT I DO THIS BECAUSE THERE WAS A CALL AND ALL OUR SORORITIES AND FRATERNITY, IF YOU ARE A MEMBER, YOU HEARD A CALL TO JOIN WHATEVER DIVINE ORGANIZATION THAT YOU WENT TO.
BECAUSE THE ONE THING THEY TALKED ABOUT IS SERVICE.
SEE OUR YOUNG PEOPLE SEE US STROLL AND THEY THINK THAT'S ALL WE DO.
BUT THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND BEFORE WE STROLL, WE WORK.
BECAUSE I SAW THESE KIDS, THEY SAID, WE GOING TO COLLEGE AND EVERYTHING AND WE WANNA STROLL
I SAID, BABY, YOU DON'T STROLL UNTIL YOU WORK.
AND IF YOU REALLY UNDERSTAND WHERE STROLLING
[01:10:01]
COME FROM, LET'S TAKE IT BACK TO AFRICA.WHEN WE USED TO DANCE FOR EVERY REASON IN OUR LIFETIME, THEN WE BROUGHT IT HERE.
AND WHILE WE WAS ENSLAVED, THE ONLY TIME THEY LET US GET IT OUT WAS DURING CHURCH.
AND SO IN CHURCH WE RELEASED, WE RELATED AND WE SAID WE GOING TO START BACK UP AND WE GOING TO DO IT AGAIN.
SO NOW THAT YOU SEE A STROLLING AND STEPPING, YOU THINK THAT'S ALL WE DO.
THAT'S AT THE END OF THE CELEBRATION.
AND SEE, YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT JESUS CHRIST TOLD US, 'CAUSE THAT'S MY LORD AND SAVIOR.
THIS LITTLE SHORT WOMAN WHO DOESN'T SPEAK A LOT IS NOT SEEN BECAUSE I NEED TO MAKE SURE MY CHILDREN ARE SEEN AND THEY'RE HEARD BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I, HOW I PAY MY RENT TO BE ON THIS EARTH.
SEE, WE FORGET THAT WE MAKE ALL THE MONEY, WHICH MOST OF US DON'T.
BUT TO BE ON THIS EARTH, WE HAVE TO PAY FORWARD.
AND I THINK EVERY DENYING ORGANIZATION, AND I'M GONNA BRING OUT THE LINKS AND I'M GONNA BRING OUT GROUP FRY GROUP.
AND I'M GONNA BRING OUT SWING FRY SWING.
AND I'M GONNA BRING OUT JACK AND JILL.
AND IF I FORGET SOMEBODY, PLEASE UNDERSTAND THERE IS AN ORGANIZATION OF ALL OF US.
AND WHEN THAT CALL COME, TRUST ME.
WE WILL TAKE OFF OUR JACKETS, WE WILL PUT ON OUR SNEAKERS, AND WE WILL COME OUT AND SERVE THE FOOD.
WE WILL TEACH YOU HOW TO READ.
WE'LL MAKE SURE YOU HAVE UNIFORMS AND WE'LL TAKE IT OUTTA OUR POCKETS A LOT OF TIMES.
BUT YOU WILL NOT KNOW THAT BECAUSE ALL YOU SEE SOMETIMES IS THAT WE ARE STROLLING, BUT WE ARE WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES.
SO I WANT TO THANK YOU BECAUSE WHEN THE CALL IS CAME, LOOK AT ALL THESE BEAUTIFUL BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
I THANK ALL THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS THAT CAME OUT AND MY SISTER, MY SORORITY SISTER.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, MANY, MANY TIMES YOU SAY SIGMA GAMMA, BRO, WE DON'T GET MANY.
BUT WHEN WE COME OUT, WE SHOW UP AND WE GOT TWO.
AND I WANNA THANK MY SISTER A TRUTH BECAUSE EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE YOU FORGET FOR WHO YOU ARE.
AND MY SISTERS WILL, TOO, WILL ALWAYS WHISPER IN MY EARS LIKE MY FATHER, THAT I AM YOUR FATHER AND YOU ARE MY DAUGHTER.
AND EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT IN D NINE ORGANIZATION, THE CALL IS OUT.
IF WE WANNA TAKE CARE OF THAT ANGEL WHO INTRODUCED US AND HOW DO YOU PUT IT GREETED US THIS AFTERNOON.
YOU CAN'T PUT YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND.
YOU HAVE TO GET OUT AND YOU HAVE TO WORK.
GOD GAVE ME A WHOLE BUNCH OF KIDS, BUT I CAN'T DO IT ALL MYSELF.
I CAN TAKE OUT THE WEEDS, BUT I NEED SOMEBODY ELSE TO PUT THE SEED.
THEN WE MOVE IT ON SO SOMEBODY CAN WATER.
BUT I'M GONNA TELL YOU, WE NEED TO GO BACK AND GROW OUR OWN FOOD IN OUR OWN HOUSE.
SO THEN WHEN IT'S TIME TO DISTRIBUTE, I'LL GIVE YOU POTATOES IF YOU GOT SOME ONIONS.
SO I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY AND REMEMBER THE CALL.
IT'S NOT ABOUT ME, IT'S ABOUT ALL OF US.
I AM LOOKING FOR THE DOORS OF THE CHURCH OF THE TEMPLE.
ANYBODY FEEL BLESSED TODAY? I WAS TELLING MY MOM, I'VE BEEN HAVING A HARD TIME LIKE GETTING A FULL NIGHT'S OF SLEEP FOR THE PAST WEEK.
AND I WAS LIKE, AND I THINK ABOUT THE FIRST NIGHT I HAD A HARD TIME OF SLEEP.
IT WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRST NIGHT OF RAMADAN AND THEN ALSO TODAY.
IF YOU CAN'T FEEL IT, IT MAY BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU
AND I THINK THAT WAS PERSONIFIED BY MISS BEVERLY AND THOSE
[01:15:01]
BEAUTIFUL WORDS.UM, AS WE NEAR THE END OF OUR PROGRAM, YOU REMIND ME OF SOMETHING.
SO I STARTED THE PROGRAM LOOKING AT THIS ROOM AND SHARING THAT IF YOU LOOK UP AND DOWN THE WALLS, YOU'LL SEE THE NAMES OF A CITY OR A TOWN THAT MAKES UP THE GREAT COUNTY OF ESSEX THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CALL ALL HOME.
MOST OF US IN THIS ROOM CALL HOME AND HOW THIS IS WHAT OUR CHAMBERS.
BUT I WAS REMINDED AS YOU WERE SPEAKING THAT THAT WAS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE.
AND IN FACT, THE FORMER TITLE, THE VERY ROLE THAT I HOLD TODAY OF MYSELF, BROTHER RICHARDSON, COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON, FORMER PRESIDENT, UH, RICHARDSON, HOLD AS COMMISSIONERS WAS ONCE CALLED COUNTY FREE HOLDERS.
AND IT WAS CALLED FREE HOLDERS TO INDICATE THAT THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO COULD ACTUALLY HOLD OFFICE IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY WERE FOLKS WHO OWNED LAND.
AND FOR A LARGE PART OF THIS HISTORY OF OUR GREAT CITY AND OUR GREAT COUNTY AND GREAT STATE, THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO COULD OWN LAND WERE RICH, WHITE, AND MALE.
SO YES, THIS IS OUR CHAMBERS, BUT IT HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN, WHEN I THINK OF THIS NEXT HONOREE, A BROTHER WHO LEADS THE LARGEST, THE LARGEST PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, THAT IS ALSO COMMITTED TO DOING THE WORK OF MAKING SURE THAT OUR YOUNG PEOPLE AND OUR FAMILIES AND OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS AREN'T IN THOSE CARCERAL SYSTEMS THAT WERE DESIGNED TO KEEP THEM IN THERE.
I THINK ABOUT THE FACT PROSECUTOR STEVENS, THAT WHEN THEY PR CREATED THE OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTOR SOME DECADES AGO, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY THOUGHT THAT A YOUNG BROTHER FROM ME STAR BY THE NAME OF TED STEVENS.
THEODORE STEVENS, TO BE EXACT A IOTA FIVE THETA FRATERNITY, WOULD MAKE HISTORY IN HIS SERVICE AND NOT SERVING ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE, BUT SERVING ON PURPOSE.
SO IF YOU DO ME THE HONOR AND PRIVILEGE OF BRING UP OUR LAST BUT FAR FROM OUR LEASE.
'CAUSE THERE'S NO LEASE IN THIS LIST OF CATEGORIES IN REC HONORARIES TONIGHT, NONE OTHER THAN ESSEX COUNTY PROSECUTOR THEODORE STEVENS OF THE IOTA FIGHT THETA ETERNITY YOU THE BEST.
I DON'T KNOW IF THESE WERE IN YOUR REMARKS, BUT WHEN WE WERE TALKING EARLIER, YOU SHARED ABOUT HOW MUCH IT TOOK FOR YOU TO START THIS CHAPTER AT YOUR CAMPUS IN SOUTH JERSEY.
ANYWAY, I'M GONNA LET YOU DO YOUR THING.
HISTORY AND HISTORY ON PURPOSE.
OUR PROSECUTOR STEVENS, EVERYONE, IT'S AN HONOR TO CELEBRATE.
ANOTHER ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR OUR COMMISSIONER OF THE MOMENT OF THE HOUR OF THE DAY, MURRAY.
NOW I'M GONNA SAY SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE SAID BEFORE.
THEY, THEY DON'T KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH ONE OF THE D NINE ORGANIZATIONS.
SO MY QUESTION IS, HOW Y'ALL LET HER GET AWAY,
I MEAN, WHAT, WHAT SOMEBODY'S SAYING, WHAT HAPPENED WAS
YOU ALL GOTTA KEEP, KEEP OVER ALIVE.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE GONNA GET THIS GOING.
LISTEN, IT IS SUCH A PLEASURE TO STAND HERE TODAY.
UM, THIS IS THE FEELING I GET, AND THE COMMISSIONER CERTAINLY ALLUDED TO THAT THERE'S A DIFFERENT FEELING IN THIS ROOM TODAY.
YEAH, I'VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF BEING IN THIS ROOM MANY TIMES AND THIS, THIS IS A GORGEOUS ROOM.
IT'S A NOT, AND AND CERTAINLY SHE IS RIGHT THAT AT SOME POINT IN, IN THE PAST, INDIVIDUALS WHO LOOK LIKE THE MAJORITY PEOPLE HERE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN AS WELCOME IN THIS ROOM AS OTHERS.
BUT YOU KNOW, NONETHELESS, WE PERSEVERE AND WE, WE GO BEYOND THAT.
AS SOMEONE ONCE SAID THAT WHEN FOLKS TRIED TO BURY US BACK IN THE DAY, THEY DID NOT REALIZE THAT WE WERE SEEDS AND THAT WE WOULD CONTINUE TO GROW AND PROLIFERATE IN THIS ENVIRONMENT.
FOR ME PERSONALLY, I I'M, AS I AM HONORED TO BE THE PROSECUTOR OF, OF THIS COUNTY.
UH, I AM FROM THE CITY OF EAST ORANGE.
AND, AND IN FACT THERE TOOK SOME, IT TOOK SOME DOING TO CONVINCE SOME PEOPLE THAT EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT FROM EAST ORANGE, NOT FROM NEWARK, THAT I LOVE NEWARK, RIGHT? SO I HAD TO TELL PEOPLE THAT I'M HERE BECAUSE IN THE SECOND GREAT MIGRATION, THE WORD IS, AT LEAST AMONG MY FAMILY, WHEN MY MOTHER, UH, MY GRANDMOTHER WAS TO BRING IN HER 10 CHILDREN, UH, I'M SORRY, THAT'S
[01:20:01]
YOUR FAMILY.THERE ARE ONLY SEVEN IN HER FAMILY, IN MY FAMILY.
SO THE SEVEN CHILDREN UP HERE, THAT WHEN THE CONDUCTORS SAID NEW YORK, WE THOUGHT WE WERE GETTING OFF IN NEW NEW YORK.
SO I HAD TO SAY THAT THAT'S HOW WE GOT HERE.
AND THEY WERE RAISED ON, ON WARREN STREET.
AND, AND SO, AND OF COURSE THE CHURCH THAT THEY WENT TO WAS BETHANY BAPTIST CHURCH, THEN THE ORIGINAL BETHANY BAPTIST BEFORE IT GOT TO, ITS, ITS LOFTY CONFINES WHERE IT IS RIGHT NOW.
SO OUR COMMITMENT TO THE CITY OF NEWARK IS REAL.
MINE IS PERSONAL, AND IT MUST BE REAL BECAUSE I STAND HERE WITH MEMBERS FROM THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE, UH, MOST PROMINENT ALEX ALBU, WHO SITS IN THE CORNER, OUR FIRST ASSISTANT, WHO IS DOING A MARVELOUS JOB, MARVELOUS JOB LEADING THE TROOPS IN THE, IN THE OFFICE.
AND, UM, AND I'M NOT A CAREER PROSECUTOR, I SAID, WELL, HOW DID YOU GET HERE? UH, PROSECUTOR STEVENS.
WELL, SAME WAY I GOT TO I TIFY THETA.
UM, FOR ONCE OR TWICE IN MY LIFE I STOPPED TALKING AND I LISTENED TO GOD
YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO DO THAT.
AND, AND WE HAVE TO REALLY ENCOURAGE OUR YOUNG FOLKS TO DO THAT MORE AND MORE.
I'M RE I'M REMINDED OF THIS ONE STORY.
THERE WAS, UM, HURRICANE KATRINA.
AND THE DEVASTATION THAT IT REEKED UPON SO MANY CITIES, ESPECIALLY IN NEW ORLEANS.
AND SO THERE WAS ONE GENTLEMAN WHO LIVED IN A, A THREE STORY HOUSE IN NEW ORLEANS.
AND THE FLOODS KEPT COMING AND THE WATER WAS GETTING HIGHER AND HIGHER.
AND SO HE WAS ON THE SECOND FLOOR AND A BOAT CAME BY AND THEY SAID, COME ON, THE FLOODS ARE GONNA GET WORSE.
HE SAID, NO, I'M A, I'M A BELIEVER IN THE LORD GOD.
AND HE WILL PROVIDE, GO ON, GO SAVE SOMEBODY ELSE.
THAT FLOODS KEPT GETTING HIGHER AND HIGHER.
FINALLY, HE'S ON THE ROOF OF THE BUILDING.
THE HELICOPTER COME AND SAYS, SIR, COME.
WE ARE NOT GONNA COME BACK ANYMORE.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, THAT GENTLEMAN PERISHES IN THE FLOOD.
HE GETS UP TO THE PEARLY GATES AND HE TALKS TO ST.
PETER, HOW, HOW COULD YOU ALL LET ME DIE? I MEAN, I'M, I'VE BEEN ONE OF YOUR MOST DEVOUT, UH, PARISHIONERS.
HE SAID, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? WE SENT YOU TWO BOATS IN A HELICOPTER
SO WE HAVE TO BE QUIET AND LISTEN SOMETIMES.
'CAUSE THE LORD IS GOING TO TELL US THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
IT'S DIFFICULT TO TALK AND LISTEN AT THE SAME TIME.
SO WE HAVE TO BE QUIET SOMETIMES TO TAKE ALL OF THAT IN.
UM, MY, MY INTRODUCTION, I FIVE THEATERS BECAUSE AT, AT GLASSBORO STATE COLLEGE NOW ROWAN UNIVERSITY, THERE WERE NO BLACK FRATERNITIES OR SORORITIES.
SO WE, WE WERE THE FIRST AND THAT WAS IN 1975.
I'M HONORED TO SAY THAT I'M ABOUT TO CELEBRATE MY 50TH ANNIVERSARY WITH I, WHICH, UH, MY WIFE REMINDS ME ON A REGULAR BASIS.
THAT COMES TO THE INEVITABLE CONCLUSION THAT YES, YOU ARE OLD
SO, SO WE'RE GOING TO CELEBRATE THAT ON APRIL 12TH.
AND ANYBODY AFFILIATED WITH US OR COMING DOWN IOTA OR NOT, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COME WITH US SO THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT WE WERE STARTING SOMETHING NEW, NOT ONLY FOR OURSELVES, BUT FOR THAT CAMPUS AS AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND, AND HAS PERSEVERED FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
AND THEN AT SOME POINT IN TIME, THEN I WAS, I WAS QUIET AND I LISTENED AND, AND GOD SAID, MAYBE YOU SHOULD ACTUALLY RUN THIS ORGANIZATION.
AND SO IN 1990 I WENT, I STEPPED OUT ON FAITH AND REACHED OUT AND I WAS ELECTED THE INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT OF IOTA PHI THE OF ETERNITY INCORPORATED.
AND THE THRUST OF THAT ADMINISTRATION WAS TO JOIN THE LYTIC COUNCIL.
AND SO AS A RESULT OF THOSE EFFORTS AND THE GREAT PEOPLE THAT CAME ALONG, ESPECIALLY JERRY O PITMAN, MY GOOD FRIEND IN BALTIMORE WHO WE NEED TO SEND SOME PRAYERS FOR, TO UPLIFT HIM, UM, THAT THAT POINT, THE ELITE EIGHT WAS FOREVER TRANSFORMED INTO THE DIVINE NINE WHERE WE STAND HERE TODAY.
WE'VE NOW BEEN IN A POSITION TO DO THE ONE THING WE NEEDED TO DO.
AND THAT IS TO BECOME THE LITTLE BROTHER OF THE BIG BROTHERS AND SISTERS THAT POPULATE THIS ORGANIZATION AND THIS ROOM HERE TODAY.
THERE IS NO IO FIVE THETA WITHOUT HAVING EVERY OF THE OTHER EIGHT ORGANIZATIONS TO, TO REALLY JUST TO SET THE TONE FOR WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
WE STRIVE TO REALLY JUST CONTINUE TO MAKE YOU PROUD OF US.
TO NOT ONLY JUST SEE OURSELVES IN YOUR IMAGE, BUT ALSO TO REACH OUR OWN HEIGHTS.
'CAUSE UH, WE, WE, OUR MOTTO IS, UM, WE LOOK TO, TO BUILD A NEW TRADITION, NOT REST UPON ONE.
[01:25:01]
GONNA SET OUR OWN PATH ALONG THE WAY.AND I DO THAT WITH THESE BROTHERS PRIMARILY WHO ARE IN THAT ROW RIGHT NOW.
AND LED BY OUR POLARIS, DARRYL STEWART, WHO IS A GREAT MEMBER OF ST.
JAMES, A ME, RASHAAN RAMIREZ, AND CALVIN PEARSON, WHO WAS RETIRED FROM THE SURROGATE COURT HERE.
AND GUY PACKWOOD, WHO'S ALMOST AS OLD AS ME, HE ALSO HAS BEEN INVOLVED THROUGHOUT AND SO MANY MORE WHO ARE IN THIS ROOM.
AND, AND ALSO THE YOUNG BROTHERS HERE, UH, BROTHER, BROTHER BRYCE, WHO HAS JUST JOINED US AGAIN, WHO IS AT NA AL JUST TOOK THE BAR.
AND, AND IMAN AL WHO IS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE, THEY'RE DOUBLE, THEY'RE HERE BECAUSE THEY'RE AT THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE AND BECAUSE THEY'RE IOTA.
SO WE'RE PROUD TO HAVE ALL THEM HERE TODAY AS WELL.
UM, BE IN THE PROSECUTOR FOR THIS COUNTY.
IT IS, IS A REAL CHALLENGE, BUT IT IS SUCH A BLESSING.
UM, WE HAVE THE, YES, WE HAVE, UM, THE DUBIOUS DISTINCTION OF TRYING CASES AND, AND DEALING WITH BETWEEN ONE THIRD AND ONE HALF OF THE VIOLENT CRIME IN THE ENTIRE STATE OF NEW JERSEY HAPPENS IN ESTES COUNTY, ONE OF 21 PROSECUTOR'S OFFICES WHERE WE HANDLE BETWEEN ONE THIRD AND ONE HALF OF THE VIOLENT CRIME IN THE ENTIRE STATE OF NEW JERSEY HAPPENS IN THIS OFFICE.
SO WE, WE HAVE SOME ROOM TO GO AND SOME WORK, BUT ALONG WITH DON TI AND SO MANY OTHER PEOPLE, WE ARE ALL COLLECTIVELY GOING TO GET THAT DONE.
BUT THE BEST PART OF IT'S UNDERSTANDING AND, AND HELPING TO GUIDE ALL THE POLICE, UH, ORGANIZATIONS AND ALL THE OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT GROUPS THAT COME TO THE RECOGNITION THAT WE CANNOT PROSECUTE OUR WAY TO A BETTER SOCIETY.
WE CANNOT ARREST OUR WAY INTO A BETTER SOCIETY.
WE HAVE TO EDUCATE, WE HAVE TO BRING PEOPLE ALONG.
SO WE'RE ABLE TO EMPLOY A DIVERSIONARY PROGRAMS LIKE OUR MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM, WHICH I'M HAPPY TO SAY WE'VE BEEN RUNNING FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS, WHICH IS THE, THE GOLD STANDARD FOR THE STATE AND WAS THE MODEL THAT WAS, UH, CRAFT, USED TO CRAFT LEGISLATION THAT MAKES THAT PROGRAM STATEWIDE.
THAT'S THE ESSEX COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH DIVERSION PROGRAM.
WE DO THAT ALSO THROUGH OUR VETERANS PROGRAM.
WE DO THAT THROUGH OUR RECOVERY COURT BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND EVERYBODY NEEDS A SECOND CHANCE.
THEY NEED A A, A FOOTHOLD TO CLIMB TO A HIGHER PLACE.
AND SO WE ARE COMMITTED TO DO THAT.
SO I HUMBLY ACCEPT THIS, UM, JUST RECOGNITION.
I'M SO BLESSED TO BE IN THIS ROOM WITH ALL OF YOU GREAT INDIVIDUALS AND MY FRIENDS WHO ALSO HAVE COME WHO, ONE OF WHICH SOME, WHETHER THEY'RE D NINE OR NOT, MS. GLORIA WATSON, OR WHO'S IN THE DR. GLORIA WATSON IN THE BACK HERE.
AND ALSO, UH, MY FRIENDS SUE VEA, DR.
SUE VEA AS WELL, WHO'S BEEN HELPING TO EDUCATE CHILDREN HERE IN NORFOLK LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
AND COMMISSIONER MICHAEL VEA, HER SON, WHO IS WITH THE FILM AND, AND THE FILM COMMISSION.
AND Y'ALL GONNA DO A LOT OF WORK AROUND HERE ONCE THE, THE STUDIOS GET UP AND RUNNING.
SO THIS IS A COLLECTIVE EFFORT.
I STAND HERE TODAY BECAUSE OF ALL OF YOU AND, AND THE WORK PUT IN BY VIRGINIA STEVENS AND THEODORE STEVENS, MY LATE PARENTS.
UM, AND JUST, I JUST AM BLESSED TO, TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO WORK.
I HOPE THAT GOD CONTINUES TO BLESS ALL OF YOU WITH THE STRENGTH AND THE FORTITUDE NEEDED TO MOVE FORWARD BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE.
AND Y'ALL, WE SHOULD JUST GET BUSY AND JUST REMEMBER THE WORDS OF PUBLIC ENEMY MOVE TOGETHER AS A GROUP, NEVER ALONE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, KENDRICK GAMAR.
MC STEVENS IN THE BUILDING, SIR.
IT WASN'T TOO LATE FOR YOU THOUGH.
HELLO, PROSECUTOR STEVENS EVERYONE AND A ROUND FOR ALL OF OUR INCREDIBLE HONOREES.
THE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS THAT HAVE BEEN RAISED THROUGH THE SCHOLARSHIPS THAT Y'ALL HAVE MADE POSSIBLE IN THIS ROOM.
THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF HEARTS, OF MINDS, OF SOULS, OF CITIES, OF COMMUNITIES TRANSFORMED BECAUSE OF THIS ROOM AND ALL THE LIVES ATTACHED TO THEM.
ON BEHALF OF ALL OF THEM, I WANNA SAY THANK YOU.
AS WE CLOSE, I HAVE TWO QUICK HOUSEKEEPING ANNOUNCEMENTS.
ONE I'M GONNA BRING UP, UH, MS. DONNA BECK, MINISTER, DR. DONNA BECK TO THE PODIUM TO LEAD US IN A CLOSING PRAYER, WHO'S AN EDUCATOR, JOURNALIST, AND MINISTER AT BETHANY BAPTIST CHURCH, AND A PROUD MEMBER OF ALPHA KAPPA
[01:30:01]
ALPHA SORORITY INCORPORATED.BUT THAT'S RIGHT, THAT'S, THAT'S BIRTH AND APPLAUSE, ABSOLUTELY.
BUT WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE YOU GUYS KNOW THAT WE'VE GOT SOME, A BEAUTIFUL, UH, PHOTOGRAPHER WHO'S HERE WITH YOU THAT'S GONNA CAPTURE THESE BEAUTIFUL MOMENTS.
AND SO ONCE WE CLOSE IN OUR PRAYER, UH, WE HAVE TWO PHOTOS THAT WE'RE GONNA DO, LIKE, WELL, TWO SETS OF PHOTOS.
ONE'S GONNA BE WITH MYSELF, COMMISSIONER RICHARDSON, AND ALL THE HONOREES.
THE SECOND WILL BE WITH ALL OF OUR HONOREES AND THEIR FELLOW FAMILY MEMBERS, GREEK ORGANIZATION, UH, FOLKS WHO ARE THERE WITH THEM.
AND THEN THIRDLY, WE INVITE EVERYONE TO FELLOWSHIP.
IF THERE'S SOMEONE HERE THAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW AND NOW YOU KNOW, YOU WANNA GET TO KNOW, PLEASE GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER.
'CAUSE OUR, OUR MAGIC IS IN US BEING CONNECTED AND AS PASTOR SAID, BEING ORGANIZED AS ORGANIZATIONS AND AMONGST EACH OTHER.
BUT WE DO ASK THAT SOME OF THAT FELLOWSHIP HAPPENED IN THE HALLWAY,
SO WE'LL DO OUR PHOTOS IN HERE.
BUT THE FELLOWSHIP OUT THERE, IT AIN'T TOO FAR YONDER, Y'ALL.
IT'S RIGHT THERE PAST THE DOOR.
ALL RIGHT? SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, AND MINISTER BECK, THANK CAN TAKE IT AWAY.
LOOK AT ALL THIS, UH, GREATNESS OUT IN THIS AUDIENCE.
I, I FEEL, I FEEL I FEEL BLESSED RIGHT NOW.
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I FEEL REAL GOOD, EXCEPT I DON'T WANNA LOOK UP MY PASTOR, YOU KNOW, I'M LIKE A LITTLE KID RIGHT NOW.
YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE HAVE THE TEACHER STANDING IN FRONT OF ME HERE.
BUT, UM, IT, IT IS, UM, IT IS A PLEASURE TO STAND BEFORE YOU.
LET US BOW OUR HEADS AND GO TO THE LORD IN PRAYER.
HEAVENLY FATHER, WE COME BEFORE YOU WITH GRATEFUL HEARTS, THANKING YOU FOR THE STRENGTH, UNITY, AND PURPOSE YOU HAVE INSTILLED IN OUR BLACK GREEK ORGANIZATIONS, WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE DEEP ROOTS OF HISTORY, RESILIENCE, AND CULTURE THAT HAVE SHAPED US AND CONTINUE TO GUIDE US.
LORD, WE ASK THAT YOU BLESS THE MEMBERS OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS.
MAY THEY ALWAYS BE REMINDED OF THE VALUES OF SERVICE, SCHOLARSHIP AND BROTHERHOOD AND SISTERHOOD THAT HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE GENERATIONS.
GRANT THEM WISDOM AND DISCERNMENT AS THEY LEAD, TEACH AND UPLIFT ONE ANOTHER, FOSTERING UNITY AND LOVE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES.
WE PRAY THAT YOU CANCEL, DEAR GOD.
EVERY ASSIGNMENT THAT THREATENS AND GOES AGAINST THESE ORGANIZATIONS CONTINUE TO GUIDE OUR STEPS, HELPING US TO STAND FIRM IN OUR COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE AND JUSTICE.
MAY WE BE EVER SO MINDFUL OF THE RESPONSIBILITY THAT COMES WITH OUR SERVICE, ALWAYS SEEKING TO ELEVATE THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN MARGINALIZED AND ALWAYS BREAKING BARRIERS.
OH, DEAR GOD, WE COME PRAYING FOR OUR WORLD NATION.
DEAR GOD, WE ASK THAT YOU TOUCH OUR PRESIDENT, SOFTEN HIS HEART, AND REMIND HIM THAT HE REPRESENTS ALL AMERICANS.
AND AS I CLOSE THIS PRAYER, I WANNA LIFT UP OUR LEADERS THAT ARE BEING RECOGNIZED TODAY, AND OUR YOUNG SISTER, COMMISSIONER DORIAN MARY AMEN.
CONTINUE TO COMFORT, GUIDE, AND PROTECT THEM, AND REMIND THEM THAT THEY ARE LOVED AND SUPPORTED.
NOW, WHATEVER NAME YOU CALL 'EM WHEN YOU PRAY, YOU CAN INSERT IT RIGHT HERE.
AS FOR ME, I CALL ON THE NAME OF JESUS.
AND DEAR GOD, WE ASK THESE THINGS TRUSTING AND BELIEVING IN YOU.