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Bridging the Gap Between Young and Old
Youth Event
Serves a Model for Repairing Generational Disconnect
By Christopher Windham
The
divide between younger and older generations, especially
among minorities, has been of growing concern to politicians,
community leaders and any organization seeking to
mobilize large groups of people.
The
younger generations say they’re misunderstood by elders,
who conversely say today’s youth are often uninterested
in paying dues or respect in the same manner they
did in the 1980s, 1970s and 1960s.
Cognizant
of the tension, the recent Uptown Summer Classic event
in New York’s historic Harlem neighborhood sought
to bring both generations together for networking,
idea sharing and mentoring.
The
event attracted hundreds of young professionals, who
were joined by several New York City and state politicians,
community leaders and local youth.
The
Uptown Summer Classic is held annually by the non-profit
Hearts in the Streets, Inc. to support its Michael
Richardson Youth College Tour, a program that sends
at-risk youth to visit such schools as Howard and
Georgetown Universities in Washington. The Uptown
Classic also recognizes several New York community
members for a variety of programs and services rendered
in city. BET VJ Alesha Reneé hosted the event,
drawing on her command of the youth audience to present
the honorees.
“The
Uptown Summer Classic helped young people see the
good of giving back,” says Richard Lecky, co-founder
and Executive Director for Hearts in the Streets,
Inc, a non-profit organization that targets talented,
at-risk youth in inner city America. “They probably
didn’t envision that they could do something that
serviceable to others. Looking at the honorees caused
a lot of young people to say ‘if they can do it, I
can do it.’”
With
the event’s success, HITS is hoping to replicate the
model in other cities. HITS is also open to sharing
their strategies with other organizations seeking
help in connecting the young and older generations.
With
New York’s election season underway, the Uptown Classic
enabled many of guests to discuss today’s issues with
their local political representatives. Such engagement
is one way to lure younger generations more interested
in the political process, community activists say.
“Only
now we are starting talking about young people and
what is their voice as if they haven’t’ been brought
into the conversion,” says Khary Lazarre White, Co
Founder/ Co Executive Director of The Brotherhood
Sisterhoodsol, who was honored for his community work
at the Uptown Classic. “But the reality is that young
people have been a part of every movement that has
gone on in society. We need to incorporate more people
into the conversation about how we solve our problems
today.”
Reneé,
at BET, says such events demonstrate the willingness
of young people to be involved in the political process.
“As
a young African American women in this day and age,
it’s really important for us to be involved in the
political process, be involved in our communities
and know which politicians are for our community,”
Reneé says. “As young people, we often don’t
do that because we felt like our voices aren’t heard.”
Honorees
received an official City Council Proclamation from
New York City Councilwoman Inez Dickens of Harlem,
who hailed the event as a good step toward eliminating
the disconnect between younger and older generations.
“I
tell my colleagues that we can listen to the young
people,” Dickens said. “We have young people in our
communities that they like to call disconnected. Every
generation has something to offer. We’ve got to listen
and embrace the young people.”
Dickens
says younger generations can benefit from the discussions
as well. “There are some things those of us in the
next generation can talk to you about,” said Dickens,
recalling how she became involved in the civil rights
movement.
Dickens
said she became inspired after listening to older
members of the movement share stories about lynchings
in the South and non-violent marchers being sprayed
with water by police. “I learned from them so I could
build on it.”
This
year’s Uptown Classic honorees included Khary Lazarre
White of The Brotherhood Sisterhoodsol organization;
Xavier Donaldson of Donaldson, Chilliest & McDaniel,
LLP and Dennis Mitchell, owner of Denny Moes Superstar
Barbershop in Harlem, which last year held a two-day
cutting marathon that raised funds and awareness for
cancer research. .
“Giving
is easy,” Mitchell said in remarks to the young crowd.
“If you don’t have money, give time. If you don’t
have time, give money. It’s so easy to give. I’ve
been doing it all my life and I encourage you to do
the same.”
The
funds raised from the event will benefit the Michael
Richardson Youth College Tour, which provides an all-expense
paid college tour for at-risk youth in inner-city
communities. The tour is primarily aimed at introducing
middle school students to college and career options,
with hopes that the students would set educational
and career goals before entering high school. The
program will then follow the students’ academic and
career progress through high school and beyond.
“The
ideal student is a male or female who has great potential,
but is at risk for being pulled into the streets,”
says Lecky, who has a personal connection to the organization’s
mission.
Lecky,
30, says he named the tour in honor of HITS Co-Founder
Michael “KB” Richardson, who was fatally shot in 2007
at a Washington, D.C. eatery.
“He’s
the person who got me to stop glorifying the negative
and the ignorant, and to start focusing on education,”
says Lecky, who is an attorney. “We put the college
tour in his name to remember him, and to salute him
as my inspiration and tribute to him.” 
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