Trusting and listening to today’s youth will help empower tomorrow’s leaders, according to a panel of guest speakers at the Boys and Girls Club of San Fernando Valley (BGCSFV) on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“Today we gather to reflect and connect, and to recommit ourselves to advancing the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – a dream rooted in dignity … that belongs to all of us across faiths, cultures, races [and] generations,” said Nicole Chase, president and CEO of BGCSFV.
“For our young people, this means understanding that who we are matters, that any label placed on you is irrelevant. Understanding who you are is what is important,” Chase added. “For adults, it means remembering that our actions teach far louder than our words ever could.”
Over 300 students, parents, community members and local elected officials were on hand for the morning presentation – “Advancing the Dream: Community, Justice and Empowerment in the San Fernando Valley” – featuring a four-member panel of speakers addressing King’s legacy.
Participating youth – including members of Zawadi Girl Scout Troop #3246 and the Young Ambassadors Leadership Academy (YALA) – recited excerpts of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech during a tribute portion of the gathering, and helped serve breakfast to guests as part of the holiday’s “day of service.”
Empowering Youth
Dr. Fluke Fluker, co-founder of The Village Nation, Inc. (TVN), a non-profit organization that focuses on challenging and empowering educators, youth and families, advised young people who have grandparents or great-grandparents who are still living to “sit at their feet and listen to their stories,” to understand the struggles and triumphs they experienced when they were young.
In addition, Fluker said adults should make a concerted effort to listen to young people in return. But whether it’s older people listening to youth or vice versa, “we should all … become better listeners for all sorts of reasons, including the development of community,” he continued.
“King was a great listener, and he listened to the people, and he listened to … their concerns,” he said, adding that King helped fortify the civil rights movement by “recruiting … young energy.”
Older people who have been on the front lines working for civil liberties, social justice and more have to get ready to “get out of the way” and “pass the baton” to the younger generation, urged Fluker, who introduced his daughter, Jazz Fluker, to share a young person’s perspective.
(SFVS/el Sol Photo)
She went straight to the point.
“When it comes to uplifting young people, I feel we need more trust from our elders,” she said. “Trust us, not someday, not when we’re older. [Trust us] now – put us in leadership positions. … Trust us enough to listen [to us], because the years have changed, [and] the world has changed. [Listen] to the creative ideas that don’t fit into boxes, the solutions that don’t look traditional, the voices that sound different. … Take advantage of our energy [to] build something new.
“Guide us, don’t change us,” added Jazz Fluker. “Because when elders trust youth, and youth honors elders, leadership doesn’t get passed down – it rises together.”
Trust and guidance for today’s youth is crucial, because as future young leaders they will have the burden of working to regain what has been lost under the current administration, such as removing Black history references from federal websites and cutting DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] policies. King himself first rose to leadership roles as a young man in his 20s.
Shantise Fields, a licensed marriage and family therapist who has worked with adolescents and young adults and their families for more than 20 years, said she learned the “greatest lesson” about cultivating leadership in young people when she worked as a dean for a middle school. She quickly realized it was easy to motivate straight-A students with perfect attendance, but initially wondered how to inspire struggling students who kept being suspended for behavioral issues.
“How do you [help them]? You do that by treating the whole child,” explained Fields. She said that includes speaking with the parents or guardians, to ask them what they need for their child or for their home, noting that it’s important to learn about and try to support the whole family.
Support might mean helping them buy groceries or pay for utilities, said Fields.
“You know what happened [afterward]? Grades increased, behavior improved,” she said. “[They] now have food, [they] now have what [they] need to get their basic needs met. Now we have equity. Now we can be inclusive. Now we put them on the same playing field as the others.
“We equalized the playing field,” she continued. “Now they are all ready to become leaders.”
The panelists also discussed the importance of kindness, personal connections and King’s
notable lessons that continue to resonate today, especially in light of the current political climate.
Sgt. Anthony Stafford, who has worked in law enforcement for more than 16 years, emphasized that despite “all the hate” that currently surrounds so many of our communities in various ways – including the rolling back of civil rights gains that King fought so hard for during his lifetime – we have to fight against the hate by choosing to “be the light in this darkness.”
“We’re [seeing] the dismantling of DEI – the dismantling of our employees, the dismantling of our inclusion. With all of that, we have to rely on love to conquer hate,” said Stafford, quoting one of King’s most beloved messages: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Along with being a light in the world, it’s also important to take action by “showing up” for others in any way we can, said Bishop Stephen Hamilton, founder of the Spirit and Life Institute.
“We have to be present for one another … even if you feel like you don’t have all the answers,” said Hamilton. “You don’t have to be present with a big speech [or] sermon. Sometimes just be present to listen … [or] if they’re not saying anything, just be present to sit with them.”
Hamilton stressed that creating or reviving personal connections is especially crucial because our lives are becoming increasingly isolated, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic and in communities that are spread out geographically, like the San Fernando Valley.
“We have to [connect] with people,” he added, “and bring love and kindness back into the equation.”