Youth Event Serves a Model for Repairing Generational Disconnect

Bridging the Gap Between Young and Old

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.

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he 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,DC. The Uptown Summer Classic also recognizes several New York community members for their commitment to a variety of programs and services rendered throughout the City. BET VJ Alesha Reneé hosted the event, drawing on her command of the youth audience to present the honorees. Human Nature is also a partner for the Uptown Summer Classic.

“The Uptown Summer Classic recognizes successful, entrepreneurs, business professionals and community leaders who inspire young professionals and entrepreneurs to continue to give back to their communities,” 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. “Many of us many not envision our ability to make an impact in our communities as we work to pursue our careers. 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 the 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 to talk about young people and what their voice is as if they haven’t’ been brought into the conversion,” says Khary Lazarre White, Co Founder/ Co Executive Director of The Brotherhood Sistersol, who was honored for his community work at the Uptown Summer 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 who were selected based their commitment in giving back to their communities, received an official City Council Citation 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 Sistersol 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 middle-school student 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 college tour program 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 urged 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.”