Fostering Black youth leadership: Speakers discuss how to move forward at MLK symposium
Nearly 60 years after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s passing, the Black community is still fighting the same injustices he fought decades ago.
That was the message delivered by speakers at the Change Makers Symposium: Igniting a Community for Transformation, held Saturday at the University of Akron's Student Union Gardner Theater.
The symposium featured a viewing of a John Morgan's "My Life" documentary, followed by two panel discussions and a keynote speech by Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, a professor at Columbia University.
Dozens of community members watched the documentary, a continuation of an earlier film Morgan created called "More Life," which focused on how oppression affects families, and more specifically Black mothers in their journeys to have and raise children.
"'My Life' was the phase two of that work, and it talks about how oppression impacts Black people over their lifespan, and it focused on children and dealt with [disparities] in the educational system, mental health and the criminal justice system," Morgan said.
The first panel discussion was moderated by Morgan's wife, Ciara Dennis-Morgan, the clinical director of the Minority Behavioral Health Group. Panelists discussed the documentary, King's legacy and the importance of maintaining mental health while navigating systems of oppression and racism as King did.
"Organizations are built to replicate themselves, so when there are organizations of oppression, what are they built to do? They're built to oppress you," said John Queener, panelist and executive director of the Minority Behavioral Health Group. "When you are inside that system of oppression, I believe that it is possible to take something that is meant for harm use it for positivity. We can work and organize inside systems and create positivity."
Panelists also discussed King's ideas of institutionalizing and internalizing nonviolence and finding the humanity and common ground in others instead of dehumanizing them, which often spurs violence.
"We need to use Dr. King's words about nonviolence to turn inward, because loving each other starts with loving ourselves," Queener said. "When we talk about violence, one of the things that tends to happen before you commit an act of violence is you have to dehumanize the other person you want to commit the violence against. If we humanize each other, then it makes it that much more difficult to commit acts of violence."
Sealey-Ruiz spoke about the importance of youth activism and invoked stories of young Black activists such as Marley Dias, Ruby Bridges, Nolan Davis and others.
Sealey-Ruiz said children like these have genius and creativity that may not be properly guided by teachers, who instead might mistake it for misbehavior.
"It's often difficult for teachers to see our children as geniuses because what comes to mind when you think of the word 'genius'? The iconic representation of genius in our society is Albert Einstein, and even he himself was a proponent of Black genius," Sealey-Ruiz said. "It does not take much to find hundreds and hundreds of stories of genius in Black youth — the issue is teachers are not looking for genius."
The second discussion focused on the future of Black leadership in the educational system and how to guide Black youth on the path to leadership, as well as culturally relevant education. It was led by Carla Chapman, the chief diversity officer for Akron Public Schools, and featured several panelists, including APS students.
When asked how joy factors into his educational experience, Bryce Harris, a panelist, APS graduate and elementary school counselor with the district, spoke about the role of teachers and their genuine interest in guiding him on a path to success and fulfillment throughout the entirety of the school year.
"Joy came from teachers not checking out early and staying consistent throughout the school year," Harris said. "You may come across some teachers that are real joyful in the beginning of the year, and then once they start seeing students doing bad, they may go, 'Oh well, y'all don't want to learn, so I don't want to waste my time,' so I just appreciate consistency from the staff."
Saturday's symposium was part of an MLK "Power, Love and Justice" weekend series of events, which included a gospel concert Saturday evening at Goodyear Theater.
The symposium was spurred from the police shooting of Jayland Walker in 2022. Local organizations, including the NAACP, DeJournett Consulting, Akron Urban League and the Freedom BLOC, got together afterward to determine how the community could address current issues facing the Black community, said Robert DeJournett, senior pastor at St. Ashworth Temple Church of God in Christ.
"We wanted to address current issues; we didn't want a performative MLK celebration, we wanted it to be meaningful, to have impact, and to address important issues the Black community is facing, all while honoring Dr. King's legacy," DeJournett said.
The MLK weekend activities concludes Monday with the Youth Day of Doing event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at sites throughout Akron, including Joy Park, Lawton Street Community Center and Mount Zion Baptist Church. Volunteers will complete a series of community-oriented tasks at these sites, including cleaning and painting, before holding a discussion regarding the future for Black youth. So far, over 80 individuals and 12 organizations have signed up for the Youth Day.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@gannett.com, or on Twitter @athompsonABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Local leaders discuss Black youth leadership, nonviolence at MLK event
