NAACP's Jordan calls for more volunteer effort

"The path of service is the way that we can become whole," David F. Gould III told the crowd at the January 15 celebration of Martin Luther King Day at Bucks County Community College.

Gould noted one of Dr. King's quotes, "Know that the greatest of things is to be a servant," and talked about our influence and fame-obsessed society. "We are obsessed with recognition, for, really, very little," Gould said. Gould is president of the Bucks County Committee for Interracial Harmony, which organized the 21st annual celebration of the life of Martin Luther King Jr. at the College. The event honored a host of organizations and people that do not strive for recognition and influence, but-like Dr. King-work to better their communities and the world.

"We really wanted to broaden the knowledge of Dr. King's goals," Gould said. The theme for the celebration was Dr. King's "Drum Major" speech, where Dr. King said, "I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things in life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that's all I want to say."

President of the Bucks County NAACP, John Jordan, provided the keynote speech for the evening, and he began his speech in an unusual way. "I'm not going to talk about a few things today," Jordan began. He said that he would not talk about the war, or inadequate healthcare and education, or racial profiling.

"I'm going to talk about overt versus covert," Jordan said. According to Jordan, many of the goals of Dr. King and the NAACP have been accomplished. "We won those battles," Jordan said. But for Jordan, the battle is now a covert one. "It's no longer in our faces," Jordan said. "The lynching is still being done, it's just being done covertly." Television, news media and unfunded education systems are the new tools of oppression. In the climax of his speech, Jordan exclaimed, "When did it become cool to go to jail instead of going to college?"

"We must be the conscience of our nation," Jordan said. He called for voluntarism and the effort to help others. He advised that citizens should hold their elected officials accountable for their actions, and make an effort to aid the community. "We've got to help somebody. That's what Dr. King would want us to do."

"Leave here today and serve your community," Jordan said.

After Mr. Jordan's call for involvement and service, the program recognized the organizations in the community that have worked long and hard to achieve the tenets that Dr. King set out in his drum major speech, from feeding the hungry to clothing the naked, to living a committed life.

The Red Cross Homeless Shelter, Bucks County Housing Group and VITA Education services were honored for their work in "serving others."

Network of Victim Assistance, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Bucks County, No Longer Bound, Family Services Association, Libertae, A Woman's Place and the Livengrin Foundation were recognized for their efforts in "loving somebody."

The Reverend Lois Wheeler was honored for her annual Thanksgiving dinner and her work in "feeding the hungry."

The YWCA of Bucks County and the Salvation Army were honored as well, for their work in "clothing the naked."

The "drum majors for peace," the Peace Center in Langhorne and the Coalition for Peace, also were recognized, along with the groups that were "righting wrongs," the Bucks County Chapter NAACP and the Human Relations Council.

Reverend Jones presented two special awards to individuals who demonstrated "living a committed life." Jesse Michner humbly accepted the Young People's Award, thanking the many organizations at the event that inspired him to get involved. Reverend Jones noted that Jesse was "a model of what young people can do in the world."

Ethel Gibson presented the Ernestine Satterfield Johnson Service Award to Nancy Tickel, a retired Pennsbury school teacher and past president of the Bucks County Committee for Interracial Harmony. "Her level of commitment inspired others," Gibson said. "I love my community and I love promoting diversity," said Tickel after the ceremony.

Throughout the evening, the program was punctuated by musical performances by the Common Ground Community Choir, and special appearances by Kathy Sledge Lightfoot and Kim Sledge Allen of Sister Sledge.

Reverend Jones concluded the evening by reminding all that "Injustice to anyone is injustice to everyone." The Sledge sisters led the entire crowd in singing "We Shall Overcome," as everyone joined hands and embraced their true togetherness.

The Bucks County Committee for Interracial Harmony meets on the first Monday of every month at 7 p.m. at Pennswood Village. "We want to have people come out to the meetings to see what we do and what we're trying to accomplish," said Reverend Jones.

© Newtown Advance 2006

By: RYAN TEITMAN
Newtown Advance
01/18/2006