Martin Luther King Jr. Millennium Awards
The Auburn/Cayuga branch of the NAACP held its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Millennium Awards ceremony January 18 at the Sunset Restaurant. The award recipients, as well as local NAACP branch hall of fame inductee Merritt Fletcher Sr., were recognized for long service to the community. We salute these individuals for their contributions.
Quadir Muntaqim
Muntaqim first came to Auburn 20 years ago for a job after a divorce in New Jersey. The
Jamaican native only meant to stay a few weeks, but he never left. In two decades, he has
worked to establish a youth boxing program in the city.
For the last several years, he’s worked as sports director at the Booker T. Washington Community Center. An accomplished amateur boxer himself, Muntaqim believes the sport provides the discipline and confidence that many children lack.
“Boxing is the type of sport that makes a kid deal with his individuality,” he said. “It gives them confidence that washes over other things. A good 85 percent of our kids have problems with peers. They want to follow the trend or be in with the in crowd, but the kids that follow boxing separate themselves from that and become their own person.”
Muntaqim also teaches African drumming at the center.
Merritt Fletcher Sr.
In addition to the Millennium Awards, former local NAACP branch president Fletcher will be
inducted into its hall of fame. Fletcher, 85, served two terms as president of the local NAACP,
from 1992 to 1998 and from 2004 to 2006.
He recalled getting guidance from longtime leader Bill Jackson, and traveling to state and national conventions and meeting civil rights luminaries like Julian Bond.
Fletcher said he was “flabbergasted” to be inducted into the hall of fame. “It was the furthest thing from my mind,” he said. “I didn’t think I really deserve the recognition because there were so many that went before me and came after me. But it’s a great honor.”
In addition to his time with the NAACP, Fletcher, a World War II veteran, has volunteered his time with many other local organizations. He’s sat on the boards of directors for the Auburn Housing Authority, RSVP, the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, the NYSEG Consumers Board and the Booker T. Washington Community Center.
The Rev. Phil S. Windsor
Westminster Presbyterian Church already had strong social justice credentials before the Rev.
Phil Windsor came along in 2000. It was founded by the Rev. Henry Fowler, an outspoken
abolitionist who officiated at Harriet Tubman’s wedding and hosted Frederick Douglass for
speeches.
“The church was formed by our founders who came together around a social issue they were concerned about,” Windsor said. “From my perspective, that’s what Jesus is about — he addressed issues in his day.”
In his 11 years as pastor, Windsor has tried to guide the church along those same social justice lines. He helped instate an interfaith Thanksgiving service after Sept. 11 and has worked with congregation members to help the needy in the community.
The church supports NAACP scholarships to Cayuga Community College and has hosted a series of debates on the topic of homosexuality and organized religion, especially the Presbyterian Church.
Windsor, a Long Island native, also serves on the YMCA board. He called the Millennium Award a credit to his entire congregation. “I look at it as more of an honor for the church,” he said. “Maybe me as a leader, but I’m a little embarrassed by it.”
Arlene Ryan and Katie McIntyre
Ryan and McIntyre remember when Orchard Street, on the west side of the city, was a stable
neighborhood where people owned their houses and kept them in good condition. Lot by lot, that
situation deteriorated over the past few decades. Absentee landlords divided up single-family
houses into two- and four-unit buildings and failed to keep them up.
“This was a nice, quiet neighborhood where everyone knew everyone for a long time,” Ryan said. “When everything was cut into apartments it was a disaster for a lot of places.” But Ryan and McIntyre have spearheaded a movement to restore some luster to the neighborhood.
Ryan is president and founder of the Orchard Street Neighborhood Association and McIntyre has been by her side for years. They’ve planted trees, distributed flower pots, argued for a playground and found funding for housing rehabilitation projects. “We’re just getting things done in the neighborhood and I think we’ve done well.” McIntyre said.
People in other areas of the city have asked members of the Orchard Street group how they can have the same success in other neighborhoods; Ryan and McIntyre tell them it’s a simple notion that is sometimes difficult to sustain.
“The key is being involved and caring about where you live,” McIntyre said. “We did it as a group, and that makes it easier.”
-Citizen Staff Justin Murphy
For more info: call Elisa Carabajal Hunt at 315.283-4682 or email unit2128@aol.com. To read more: http://auburnpub.com/lifestyles/the-mlk-model/article_8a9e906a-38c5-11e1-bbda-001871e3ce6c.html
