MLK Day: 'Community Must Work for the Common Good'

With civic groups, faith congregations, and area governments all participating, the 29th annual area observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday rallied in the park and marched through a closed-off downtown preaching a message of working for the common good.

Officials from Glen Rock and Ridgewood gathered at  and  for worship at an inter-faith service headlined by a sermon from Reverend Dr. George Maize III and a keynote address by village resident, New Jersey Public Defender Yvonne Smith Segars.

Organized by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, the service packed the church and participants walked through Ridgewood's streets, singing songs from the Civil Rights Movement and chanting peace-rallying cries.

Keynote speaker: 'I refuse to believe our bank of justice is bankrupt'

Segars, New Jersey's top public defender, outlined the message by pointing to the grim statistics where Dr. King's dreams have still yet to be realized. She said of the 24,000-plus incarcerated in our state's prison system, 61-percent are black. Worse, she said, one-third of black men nationally will be under some form of supervision by the criminal justice system. Juvenile rates don't divert from the trends either.

If he were around today, Segars said, "Dr. King would not be silent. Dr. King would not allow the community to be comfortable [with those figures]."

A village resident and proponent of drug courts for non-violent criminal offenders, Segars said that many are discriminated in practical settings and it's not always apparent.

"Statistics cannot be discussed in a vacuum," she said, remarking that the real consequences of the current plight are often inferior educational opportunities, far higher rates of unemployment, a lack of access to quality medical care and job opportunities.

"There are extreme barriers," Segars said, noting that there is much work to be done but one point should be guiding our lives–what are we doing for others?

Segars asked those in attendance to publicly vow to reach out to the community and offer their skills and heart. Hands rose and some audience members agreed help educate on immigration issues, mentor at a group home and raise money for seniors living in non-profit housing.

"I refuse to believe our bank of justice is bankrupt," she said. "We should make a commitment to make a deposit into that bank. Teach our children tolerance and civility."

Students: 'You must be the change'

Students from Ridgewood and Glen Rock schools expressed what the common good meant to them, each remarking that Dr. King's teachings as still eminently relevant today. Erica Zeno, a senior at Ridgewood High School, said it's common to find those 'freeloading'–benefiting from the common good but contributing nothing. She saw it over the summer with water restrictions in place, yet yards popped with green.

"Are people just overtly selfish?" she asked. "It's more complicated than that," she said. Swathi Ragulan, of GW, said these things won't change without action. "You must be the change," she said.

Mayors: 'Support your communities'

Ridgewood mayor Keith Killion and Glen Rock mayor John van Keuren delivered their speeches calling for common citizens to do both common and uncommon acts to strengthen the two respective communities.

Van Keuren said the uncommon good can be seen in the programs that deliver meals, support and comfort to the residents of the two towns.

"But, just as importantly, the uncommon good also includes the way that Dr. King exemplified...to go out of our way to assist each other in public venues and in private." "It's the community thing to do," van Keuren said.

Killion said that with the hustle and bustle of modern life, we often "don't take the time to see the bigger picture."

"We need to reach out, beyond our immediate surroundings, and honor Dr. King's legacy by participating in activities dedicated to serving others," Killion said.

"This is important not just today, on Dr. King's birthday, but to make it part of our everyday lives."

Student: 'My innocence was lost'

Glen Rock High School senior Jamel Jones told a crowd gathering on Oak St. that until three months ago, he'd never experienced racial discrimination. At a football game Jones said an opposing player called him the 'n-word'.

"I was scarred, my innocence was lost," said Jones, who added that while he's certainly in the minority at largely white Glen Rock school, he's always felt comfortable in the community he calls home.

But, he said, after that incident, "I began to question those around me," and their sincerity. It was short-lived, the senior said. With perspective and reflection, "after that incident, I'm living Dr. King's dream."

Jones said that despite the acknowledgement that there will be those with hate in their heart, venom in their words, he takes comfort knowing he can text and call friends knowing that they have the same perspective as he does.

"I may not get to the mountain top with you," he said to the crowd. "But we can get there."

Reverend: 'Are we going to be partners in Dr. King's dream?'

Community religious leaders began the morning with prayers for peace, an invocation, and the powerful voices of Ramapo/Indian Hills choirs as well as the Men of Umoja, a male chorus.

Rev. Dr. George W. Maize III, who has served the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church for 54 years and previously as the Preisident of the NAACAP and the Deputy mayor of Jersey City, said the moment should be about not just preserving Dr. King's memory, but advancing it.

Active in the Civil Rights movement who marched on Washington and met Dr. King, Maize called for congregants to "walk on" with King's message in their hearts and minds. "We cannot continue to do business as usual. Our freedom is inextricably bound together in the common cause for a common community of love," he said.

Rev. John Hartnett of St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church posed the question – are we going to be partners in Martin Luther King's dream or are we going to look back and make a 'token gesture'?

Countless organizations participated in the day's activities from inside and outside the village. Nearly all Ridgewood and Glen Rock churches, temples and Bergen County mosques aided in efforts. It was all flanked by the message of those marching through the downtown. Chants sung from "We Shall Not Be Moved" and "We Shall Overcome" could be heard around the village, in the Valley.

Despite continued challenges, mountain tops can be reached, the message seemed to be.

But the community must reach it and do so together — all by working for the common good.