SCOTCH PLAINS — During this year’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemoration, Social Justice Matters, Inc. (SJM) and R.E.A.L. Parents x SPF launched a multi-year video project to chronicle residents’ views on the slain civil rights leader’s legacy. The two organizations interviewed and recorded 22 people on January 15 during the MLK Day of Service at the Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA.

Participants were asked to describe, through various prompts, the personal significance of Dr. King’s ideas and actions. For example, they could talk about causes worth marching for or worth speaking about before thousands of people; current problems that Dr. King’s ideas could help resolve, and the importance of nonviolent protest.

Those participating ranged in age from 5 to 97, included families and individuals, and addressed economic justice, education, gun violence, equal justice and the ability to access resources, among other issues.

Sequoia Pilgrim, a volunteer from Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School’s (SPFHS) Black Student Union (BSU) and a senior at the high school, cited “education, especially the privilege of being able to go to college,” as a cause worth marching for. That opportunity will contribute “to a more overall equitable society,” she said.

Another participant, Jelani St. Louis, said Dr. King’s presence and advice is sorely needed in dealing with many contemporary problems, especially gun violence. He said Dr. King would have been able to provide guidance on the direction to take in resolving these problems.

Richard Childs, who focused on the importance of nonviolent protest, recalled going to the 1963 March on Washington, D.C., where Dr. King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. “I marched down to the [National] Mall and I heard him speak, and I went away gratified that he had the answer to helping people succeed in their life peacefully,” he said.

Mr. Childs, who is 97, added that the civil rights leader, who was assassinated in 1968, “was a key to opening up the doors in the United States for me and my generation.”

Soheila Morgan, a student at Terrill Middle School, chose to focus on how Dr. King marched for peace and emphasized the need to recognize that self-centeredness and jealousy should “not stand in the way of people getting equal rights.

“You can’t bring someone down just because you don’t want them to be better than you,” she said.

Jaden Reynolds, a BSU member and SPFHS senior, said mental health is an example of a current problem Dr. King’s ideas could help address. He said children of color often do not have access to professionals familiar with their experience. Further, Black men often are reluctant to speak out about the issue, concerned they will be judged for it, Jaden said.

Dr. King would “be able to motivate people to get up there and talk about their problems,” he said. “I don’t think we have anyone doing that now.”

“It’s always important to remember that no matter who you are or what you believe in, that we all deserve to be treated fairly and equally,” said Richelé Gonzalez of R.E.A.L. Parents. “We have come so far from when Dr. King was alive, but we all still have work to do.”

Tashira Wheeler, SJM’s president, said economic justice is a concept worth marching for. “Our children need to see that there are economic opportunities for all people,” she said.

Talib Morgan, an SJM board member who created the video project, said his organization and R.E.A.L. Parents plan to conduct similar interviews at least once a year to chronicle residents’ views and see whether they change over time.

SJM, a Scotch Plains-Fanwood grassroots nonprofit created in 2009, works to eliminate inequity and lift up diverse voices by fostering positive relationships among neighbors through education and advocacy.

R.E.A.L. Parents x SPF, an organization created in 2020 to support ways of raising culturally-conscious children, is a collective of parents, neighbors, alumni and allies united to bring more representation, equity, anti-racism and literary diversity to the Scotch Plains-Fanwood school district.

Sequoia, Jaden and Sara Fevrier, also a SPFHS senior and BSU member, as well as BSU member Nyla Bartholomew, a Union CountyAcademy for Performing Arts senior and an honorary BSU member, participated in the video project. They also read stories to and led activities for young children.

The interviews conducted on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day will be available in the near future on the SJM and R.E.A.L. Parents’ websites: https://www.socialjusticematters.org and https://www.realparentsxspf.org.