Five of New Jersey's most influential and dedicated public servants were honored for their commitment to social justice at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Awards of Excellence dinner Thursday night, at Nanina's in the Park in Belleville.
Thurgood Marshall's son, John W. Marshall, distributed awards to the distinguished recipients. Those honored were: Stephen N. Adubato, Sr., the founder of The North Ward Center and The Robert Treat Academy, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, state Attorney General Paula T. Dow, John J. Farmer, the dean of the Rutgers School of Law-Newark, and U.S. District Court Judge Susan D. Wigenton.
Upon accepting the award, Adubato urged the guests to integrate the spirit and ideals of Justice Marshall's work into their own work, because many residents of New Jersey's urban areas still do not enjoy an acceptable quality of life.
"We need a man like Thurgood Marshall today more than ever," Adubato said. "Our urban communities are failing their residents, particularly the children. We need Thurgood people, like you, to continue that good work and help make those urban problems a thing of the past."
Adubato has been working toward that goal since founding the North Ward Center in 1970. The center aims to improve the quality of life of Newark children, seniors and families through a broad range of cultural, recreational and educational programs. It operates The Casa Israel Adult Medical Center, Newark Business Training Institute, North Ward Child Development Center, Robert Treat Academy, a Blue Ribbon charter school with two campuses in Newark.
Booker humbly accepted his award, saying he faced a lot of road blocks in his professional and political career, but none like the ones Justice Marshall's generation faced.
"Too many people have resigned themselves to the belief that our urban areas do not work, that the streets will always be dangerous, that the schools are always going to fail...," Booker said. "We have not yet delivered on the debt we owe Justice Marshall. We have not yet bridged the educational gap in America."
Dow said her own educational background, graduating from Franklin and Marshall College and later from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, is due in part to Justice Marshall's work as a judicial pioneer. She invoked his words and his belief that a baby born to the poorest black woman in a place like Mississippi can have the same rights as a baby born to the wealthiest white woman in America.
"It's not true, but I challenge anyone to say it is not a goal worth working for," the attorney general said.
Farmer said he was proud to represent Rutgers Law School at the dinner, one of the most progressive law schools in the country. He thanked the Thurgood Marshall College Fund board for their work and for presenting him with the award.
"This award represents more than accomplishment. This award represents everything I aspire to be now and everything I aspire to be in the future," Farmer said.
Wigenton said she hopes she embodies Justice Marshall's vision, as a graduate of Historically Black Norfolk University and through her distinguished record as a trial attorney and judge. As a judge, she agonizes over getting every sentence right, like her mentors from earlier in her career, because she wants to do her job right. She's happy to have her work recognized by such a prestigious, hard-working group of people.
"The only true power you can tap into is the respect of people," Wigenton said.
Thurgood Marshall was the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court. He also served as Chief Counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, winning several landmark cases, including Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
The Thurgood Marshall Fund is a national organization that provides merit-based scholarships and programmatic support to students attending the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities. For more information, visit www.thurgoodmarshallfund.net.
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