Local nonprofit Phipps Neighborhoods, which aims to help youth and families overcome poverty, partnered with Fordham’s Center for Community Engaged Learning, Office of Multicultural Affairs, and Office of the Chief Diversity Officer to host the event. More than 300 attendees, many of them young Bronx residents who participate in Phipps Neighborhoods programs, braved frigid temperatures to gather at the McGinley Center and reflect on how King’s message can inform contemporary activists.

“We’re happy to broaden the conversation beyond the details of Martin Luther King’s life so that we can have some serious, courageous conversation about how we can continue that legacy for justice,” said Mark L. Chapman, Ph.D., a professor of African and African American Studies at Fordham, who moderated a panel discussion at the event.

A ‘Clarion Call’ to Today’s Activists

Dianne Morales, executive director and CEO of Phipps Neighborhoods, said the event’s theme, “Courageous Conversation in Action: Creating Brave Spaces to Stand for Justice,” reflected the importance of commemorating King’s life and work with discussions that “spotlight issues where struggle is still needed,” such as racial inequities in education and employment.

In her opening remarks, Morales said King “was focused on the need for all of us to call out racism, discrimination, and inequality—to take this country to task and create change in the systems and institutions that perpetuate those disparities in our communities.”

She said that by having these conversations and working to fight these injustices, we honor his spirit.

“We recognize, moreover, that his clarion call is as relevant today as when he walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965,” she said.

Intergenerational Lessons

In his keynote speech, the Rev. Dr. C. Vernon Mason reminded the audience that King was just 26 years old when he played a pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

“I don’t want anyone to leave here today thinking Dr. King was an elder,” Mason said. “Dr. King was a very young person. Don’t let old folks tell you that you’ve got to be old to do something.”

Mason, a visiting professor at the New York Theological Seminary, drew on his own experience as a civil rights attorney in reminding older attendees that bridging generational divides is essential to carrying on the work of the civil rights movement. “Young people have something to teach us, and we certainly have something to share with them,” he said.

A panel discussion moderated by Chapman featured community leaders at the forefront of today’s civil rights struggles, including Hawk Newsome, chair of the New York chapter of Black Lives Matter; criminal justice reform advocate Vidal Guzman; and Yaniyah Pearson, director of restorative practices and equity initiatives at the New York nonprofit Ramapo for Children.

In response to a question from Chapman about mentorship, panelist Nakita Vanstory, the director of Justice Community and Justice PLUS Programs at LaGuardia Community College, said she often finds inspiration in the young people she works with. “When I feel like giving up or I feel like I’m not making a difference, I think of all the people who are silently mentoring me and I think about the difference that I’ve made in my students,” she said. “That’s where I get my motivation.”

Community Partnerships: A Foundation for Change

Arto Woodley, executive director of the Center for Community Engaged Learning, said the event and the conversation it inspired are “at the core” of Fordham’s mission. But, he cautioned, “Having the conversation starts the process, but by no means ends the process.” He added that working with neighbors such as Phipps Neighborhoods will help the Fordham community meet the challenge of translating intellectual discussion into concrete action and leadership.

“Our goal is that this event is beginning of something we’ll do on an annual basis,” Woodley said.

Morales said that for Phipps Neighborhoods, the collaborative nature of the event reflected “the role that the campus and University can and should play in lifting up the voices of the community it resides in.”

Engaging with the local community held special importance for Charlotte Hakikson, a senior at Fordham College at Rose Hill who grew up nearby in the Bronx. “I’ve always enjoyed when we have events that invite the community to our campus and allow students to interact with the community that they’re living in,” she said.

Hakikson, a theology and African American studies major, said she was excited to see young people from the neighborhood at the event because she believes it is important for students to be exposed to King’s teachings and consider how those lessons can be applied today. “He’d say that there’s more work to do,” she said. “He’d still be fighting for more equity.”

–Michael Garofalo

The dinner reception and certificate ceremony capped off the first English as a Second Language (ESL) course offered to Bronx adults by Fordham’s Institute of American Language and Culture (IALC). The free course was made possible by a grant from the city’s Department of Youth and Community Development and through collaboration with Fordham’s Office of Sponsored Programs.

“We wanted to be more involved in the community,” Community ESL Program Coordinator Jesús Aceves-Loza said of the IALC, which has been providing English courses for college students from around the world for more than 30 years.

“The Jesuits have this principle of cura personalis, care for the whole person. Talking metaphorically, the whole person is the Bronx, and we need to address the needs of every part of that huge body.”

Students in the Community ESL program hailed from 13 countries, including Nicaragua, Mexico, Italy, and the Dominican Republic. Many of them brought children and other family members to the reception. After the certificate presentation, some gave speeches or performances, including dances, songs, and even a clown act.

‘I Have Been Waiting for This’

Aceves-Loza said the ESL students ranged in age from a young man of 23 to 83-year-old “Italian nonna” Giuseppina Cibelli, of whom he spoke fondly.

“She said, ‘This is the first time we feel that any Catholic college is interested in us. For 50 years I have been waiting for this. It’s wonderful that Fordham is taking care of us as its neighbors.’”

The program was taught and developed by Joy Jo, Ed.D., and other ESL teachers from the IALC; other volunteer instructors included Fordham staff, students, and Jesuit scholastics from Ciszek Hall.  All teachers completed a certificate program in Mental Health/First Aid from the New York City health department as part of their training.

The course was taught on the Rose Hill campus and, through a connection with Fordham’s Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish, which had offered ESL courses in the past. Several of the students were nuns in the Hermanas Misioneras Servidoras de la Palabra order, who come from Mexico and serve communities throughout the Bronx.

“We had a chance to learn firsthand about the challenges these people face on a daily basis,” said Aceves-Loza. During the assessment period, he said, “Some people broke down.” Some students were living in shelters, looking to find a job so they could find a home. Some were refugees. Some were looking to advance in their jobs and provide a better life for their families.

Supporting Not Just Students, but Families

One of the students, Luis Ingram, works in a company that makes electronic systems for elevators. He is a 37-year-old father of two children who came to the U.S. from Nicaragua.

“This program has given me the chance not only to learn a new language, but also to find new opportunities and open new doors in my life,” said Ingram, who wants to go back to college and become a manager. Aceves-Loza said for Ingram, “family is everything.”

Many of the program’s students had a high level of education, holding bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Most had finished high school. “But they can’t find a job here because they don’t speak English,” Aceves-Loza said.

Student Quendy Perez, 47, lives with her son, Adonis, who was also a student in the program. Perez has a part-time job, but wants to become proficient in English in order to find better employment. She built a strong connection with Professor Jo, her instructor.

“I love the way she teaches us,” said Perez, who came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic, “I also love her passion, patience, and dedication.”

The program initially enrolled 146 students with beginner and intermediate English skills. Some had to drop out because of other commitments, including one person who found a job during the course—“which was a good reason!” said Aceves-Loza. At the end of the six-month program, Fordham presented 96 certificates to students who showed a gain on the assessment test and attended at least 85 percent of classes.

James Stabler-Havener, director of the IALC, noted that working together with the Office of Sponsored Programs, the institute received a renewal of the grant and is also seeking additional funding sources to expand the program for returning students and new students.

In the meantime, over the summer the institute will be offering free career workshops, as well as programs on immigrant rights and how to navigate the school system as parents.

“When we enroll a student, it’s not the student alone, it’s their family,” said Aceves-Loza, who noted that these language skills are helping adults to communicate with their own children, many of whom have forgotten their parents’ native tongue. “Family support is crucial.”

Aceves-Loza said when a representative from the Department of Youth and Community Development came to visit the program, she called it a model.

“She said, ‘You are one of my two best programs,’” he said, acknowledging that he and his colleagues appreciated the praise.

“But it’s much better to see how the program has changed lives.”

The group’s last reading of the season featured poet Tyehimba Jess, who read from his second book Olio, which won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in poetry. Also reading were three teen students who took part in Poets Out Loud’s high school outreach program.

Jess—known for his poetry slam skills—read from his series of sonnets on conjoined twins who were born into slavery, made to perform in freak shows, and eventually earned enough money to buy the land where they had been slaves. (See him read from these sonnets at a Tedx talk.)

Heather Dubrow, Ph.D., Fordham’s John D. Boyd, S.J., Chair in the Poetic Imagination and director of the Poets Out Loud reading series, said having an accomplished poet like Jess was a great way to end the season.

“We were delighted to have Pulitzer Prize winners at both the beginning and the end of this year’s series,” she said, referring to poet Kay Ryan, who read in October.

“We like to represent poets at all stages of their careers, from emerging writers to very distinguished ones. It was wonderful to include Tyehimba Jess, not only because he is distinguished but because of what he offers in other ways. The poetry is splendid; it draws attention to many contemporary experiments with poetry and it engages with historical issues and some of the most shameful issues in our country’s history.”

Jess had a tough act to follow. Before he took the mic, the high school students got up to read their work, which dealt with issues both personal and global. Laurynn Laurore, an 11th-grade student from East Side Community High School, read her poem “Music”:

Music

Music wrapped around the peaks of my ears
And placed a kiss on my ear drums
The sounds bounced up and off the shaking of my hips
To cascade down my body
You watched in amazement
You had never seen me like this
So completely lost in something
You might have been a bit jealous

This is what I wanted for you
To get lost in the magic of music
So I pulled you close and sung the tune in your ear
Hoping it would kiss you too
Hoping it would flow through you
And teach you how to move with me

Laurore was joined by Alesha Alli, from Bronx Early College Academy, and Deliana Rosario, from the School for Excellence.

In a loud, strong voice, Alli read from her poem called “Perspective”: “We complain about the rain/and when our food is too plain/While there’s children in Africa/ suffering endless pain.”

Rosario read softly from her poem, which focused on a relationship: “You’ll never know my story/because it’s never been told/Maybe it’s just toxic/the little hope that we hold.”

Poets Out Loud’s high school outreach program, started by Dubrow in 2009, aims to fosters an interest in reading, writing, and listening to poetry among high school students in underserved communities in the city.

Just before each event in the reading series, these students gather for a workshop—run by a Fordham graduate student—on the poets who are going to read. The poets themselves join for the final 10 minutes. Then the students join the audience for the reading.

Dubrow said that many audience members express how they never thought they were interested in poetry, but that their teachers encouraged them come to the event and that got them excited about future readings.

“The series is challenging and exciting because we bring poetry to so many people, both those who have long been seriously involved with it and those who, through the readings, realize how much it has to offer,” said Dubrow.