Never satisfied with the status quo, Dr. Archie Lacey’s dignified determination throughout the 60’s and 70’s was often the engine for progress when the well intentioned leaders of our community had run out of patience, energy and time.
I could still hear Archie’s challenges, when his widow Theodora and I sat lamenting over dinner in February, 2000. Our own children were grown; we celebrated the multi-racial community in which they had bloomed into leaders. But the silence of today’s youth was deafening. Our hearts ached for their seeming indifference. We wondered who or what had shut them down. Had they become disenchanted or actually lost belief in their potential to “be the change they want(ed) to be…” as Gandhi had advised? To “Stay at the table”, as Archie had challenged.
Informed by our earlier successes organizing voter registration for 18year olds; including young people in both the planning and the action of anti-war rallies, open housing, educational advocacy and fairness in textbooks, we believed in the potential of teens to rally opinion, represent themselves, and even lead in their efforts to deal with prejudice based on race, gender, ethnicity, academic achievement, physical appearance, religion and ability.
“All they need is a safe place to talk with their peers”, she suggested. And I added, “…role models: a diverse group of teens and young adults who come from their environment and are now successful in the world that will be theirs. ” We agreed that adults who trusted teens to find their own voices could serve as facilitators, but most of the work had to be done by teens themselves.
Our enthusiasm was boundless. We imagined a secular setting, peers to provoke discussion of topics; educators, social workers, counselors to lead and the fellowship of sharing a meal! A whole day and perhaps in the distant future a whole weekend. And anchors for context: a film, keynote speakers, a panel, activities which could engage them in the challenge while freeing them to find their own wings.
Giving voice was our goal. No outcomes were forced. Space for safety and confidentiality. Public, private and religious schools invited to send representatives. The challenge to recognize that teens can be changemakers. As Archie’s son, Clinton Lacey reminded them at the first conference, “Martin was only 39 when he was assassinated. He had been organizing for years.” “Get ready”, Clinton warned these teenagers, “We are turning this world over to you, real soon.
We recognized that it took courage to identify as a leader. So we planned to encourage open registration, not assignment of students hand picked by administrators. We hoped that coming together they would discover themselves and one another.
And they did.
A small endowment established to honor Dr. Archie Lacey was the initial sponsor. More than 20 experienced and caring youth leaders from houses of worship served as advisors for two years. Volunteers provided the meal and the people power.
Teens Talk about Racism has grown from a gathering of 15 young people and 30 adults in a local house of worship, to a diverse group of more than 150 sophomores, juniors, and seniors from public, private and religious schools at a regional university. The teens are supported in efforts to grapple with their current issues, to avoid being hobbled by anger, and most of all to develop the recognition that they can be change makers.
In partnership with the CORE PROGRAM of Fairleigh Dickinson University, Hackensack New Jersey which provides the facilities and donations by Bergen justice makers, Teens Talk about Racism is illuminated by the vision of Maryann Woods-Murphy, a high school teacher whose boundless enthusiasm energizes the current programs. The participating teens of Bergen County New Jersey are given back a gift they already had, their own voices.
In 2005, Dr.Joseph L. Graves, Jr, biology professor and author of The Race Myth, serving as Chairman of Fairleigh Dickinson’s University’s CORE program, was invited to give the keynote address to the conference. He chose to offer a mini-version of his freshman class, a challenging report on his stereotyping research which defeated extant prejudice through statistics and humor. And then he challenged the planners of the conference. How about a national day when teens in school districts all over the country talk about racism?
With his encouragement and your support we embark on that voyage.
Rori Kanter,
January 2006