As we have at the Y every year for the past 47, this past Friday we celebrated the extraordinary life and influence of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Although our gathering had to be virtual again this year, the warmth and fellowship was palpable.
This year we were very fortunate to have Delano Johnson as our keynote speaker. Born and raised in poverty and the foster care system in Baltimore City, Delano graduated from Dunbar High School and attended Bowie State University, where he was a standout athlete in both basketball and football. He went on to a professional football career with the Houston Texans of the NFL, and two teams in the Canadian Football League. As impressive as all that is, it is Delano’s determination to overcome significant adversity, and help others do so as well, which truly distinguishes him and makes him a role model in the truest sense of the word. Now the Dean of Students at Excel Academy in Baltimore City, Delano is making good on his promise to use his experience to help others: “It’s my job to bring hope to these kids.”
When summarized as I have above, you might think that Delano’s story is a feel-good one in which his life was “saved” by his athletic prowess, with a steady trajectory upward. But life is never simple, particularly when you’re born to a teenage mother struggling with drug addiction and you have no father to turn to. Sadly, Delano’s mom died of an overdose his freshman year at Bowie State. As he says, “at that moment, I understood Dr. King’s quote more than ever: ‘What affects one directly, affects all indirectly.’”
The impact of his mom’s death was significant, and it led to a downward spiral upon his return to college, starting with deep depression and punctuated by an arrest on campus for assault. According to Delano, “this experience changed me forever. And as I was sitting in the cell, I made a pact with God. I promised God that if he gave me a second opportunity at life and to redeem myself that I would take advantage of that. God gave me an opportunity to redeem myself and that’s exactly what I did.”
Upon his release from prison, he recommitted himself to his studies and his teammates, graduating from Bowie State University and heading off to the NFL.
If you were unable to attend last week’s event, follow this link to see Delano tell his story, after which he and I had an opportunity to explore his story and perspective even further: Delano Johnson's Story
Delano’s life story reminds us how easy and yet wrong it is to turn our back on people who stumble and to assume that a person’s lowest moment is the sum total of their humanity. The truth of the matter is that we are giving up on too many young people in Baltimore who face the same obstacles that Delano did. They face a wall of systemic inequality and unfairness. Turning our backs on these youth and that system may be the easy thing to do, but it clearly isn’t turning out very well for us as a city or as a society.
At the Y, we believe in digging in and investing in our young people, building upon their unique assets and helping them navigate the landmines, both large and small, that they encounter on a daily basis. We believe that we need change at a systems level, and along with many others, here at the Y we will continue to push for that, never forgetting Dr. King’s piercing insight that what affects one directly, affects us all indirectly.
All the best,
John
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland