Letters
An honor to be an African American in gov’t

Let me begin by saying it is an honor and a privilege to be the first African American councilwoman in the township of North Brunswick. As the first African American councilwoman, it is indeed a great honor to serve the community with such pride and dignity. I am hopeful our youth in the community will respect what our ancestors have done for us to have paved the way for African Americans and minorities to have risen to a level that we too can serve the public in government.

As February has been designated as the celebration of Black History Month, we should honor all those who have made contributions to this wonderful country. Some of the men and women who are or who were in government I have listed below:

• Barbara Jordan — first African American woman to serve in the U.S. Congress in the South

• Shirley Chisholm — first African American woman to serve in the House of Representatives

• Barack Obama — the only African American in the U.S. Senate

• Andrew Young — U.S. Representative to the U.N. (1977-79).

I would like to thank the beautiful 52 Democratic committee members in the township of North Brunswick for acknowledging my vision and putting their trust in an African American woman and for making history in this town. I will continue to serve North Brunswick to the best of my ability and in doing so I hope I will inspire young people to strive for the best. Do not settle for anything less and make a positive mark in society.

Rhonda Lyles

councilwoman

North Brunswick

Remember those who fought for civil rights

With the passing of Coretta Scott King — and so soon after the passing of Rosa Parks — this is a fitting time for us to renew our individual commitments to improve intergroup relations in our country. These mothers of the civil rights movement demonstrated the “greatest generation” — Tom Brokaw’s term for World War II veterans who defended freedom — applies to leaders of social change as well.

Young students may not realize the difference one person can make. These women join a legion of other Americans — women and men of all races, religions and cultures — who often risked personal harm to decry injustice and remind our national community of what not only is “politically correct,” but also morally correct.

The founders of the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ) — President Theodore Roosevelt, Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo and social reformer Jane Adams — were among the early civil rights leaders who believed firmly in social justice for all.

NCCJ-NJ — working in New Jersey since 1948 to fight bias, bigotry and racism — continues those efforts and encourages each person to think about what we can do as individuals to educate ourselves and others about differences in our society.

At NCCJ-NJ we celebrate differences, encourage respect for all and value the greatest generation of social leaders. With special thanks to and recognition of Coretta Scott King and Rosa Parks at this time, we mourn their loss while celebrating their lives and legacies. They demonstrated that one person, in his or her own way, can enlighten the rest of us. It is by taking action, as they did, that one can truly make a difference.

Diane Schwartz

president & CEO

NCCJ-NJ, New Brunswick

Make a difference and run for a school board position

When New Year’s Day arrived this year, did you resolve to get involved? Did you say this is the year you’re going to make a difference in your community? If so, your opportunity may have arrived — I ask you to consider becoming a candidate for your local school board.

The deadline for candidates to submit their nominating petitions — the document that gets their name on the ballot — is Feb. 27. The annual school election is April 18.

As the president of the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) and a longtime local school board member, I can tell you serving on a school board can be challenging, sometimes difficult ... but ultimately rewarding. What could be more meaningful than helping to shape the education of every child in your community’s public schools?

School boards don’t run the schools, that’s the job of the superintendent and principals. Rather, the school board works with the superintendent to set the goals and the agenda for the district. The board annually evaluates the superintendent, and it also writes the policies under which the district operates. It oversees the budget, approves curriculum, and represents the public during contract negotiations.

Not surprisingly, the job demands a commitment of time — certainly more than simply attending a few meetings a month. The job also demands that board members possess other skills. They must make and publicly defend sometimes difficult decisions. They must work as a team, because a school board member acting alone has no authority to make decisions for the district. And, although the position is nonpartisan, it does require a certain level of political savvy and diplomacy. But above all, the board member must be committed to ensuring a quality education for the public schoolchildren in the community.

You can learn more about the issues affecting your schools by attending meetings, going online, and discussing candidacy with local education leaders. Although school board members are unpaid lay representatives, they don’t step into the job unprepared. Newly elected board members are required by law to attend an NJSBA orientation program which provides the “basic training” for the boardroom. After that, board members may attend numerous training programs that NJSBA sponsors.

To learn more about running for the school board, NJSBA has published a candidate kit which can be obtained online at www.njsba.org or through your local school district’s business office. Consider candidacy. Because this just may be the year that you make a difference in your community!

Patti J. Pawling

president

New Jersey School

Boards Association

Trenton