Former Orange West Ward Councilman Hassan Abdul Rasheed, third from right, stands with Howard University professor Bahiyyah Muhammad, third from left, and Dawan Alford, right, and the other members in the 124 — 1Family 2Gether 4Ever — non-profit group on Friday, June 2, during its annual Hassan C. Miller Scholarship Dinner at the Orange Elks Lodge 135 on Main Street. The scholarship dinner is named after Abdul-Rasheed’s son, who was shot and killed almost nine years ago, while he was driving a taxi cab in East Orange. His surviving ‘brothers’, including Alford, banded to form the 124 group in his honor that gives out scholarships to local high school graduates pursuing a higher education, as well as hosting the annual Hassan C. Miller Basketball Tournament at Central Playground.
ORANGE, NJ — The 1 Family 2Gether 4Ever charity group hosted its annual Scholarship Banquet in memory of Hassan C. Miller Jr. at the Orange Elks Lodge 135 on Friday, June 2.
The son of former Orange West Ward City Councilman Hassan Abdul Rasheed, Miller was shot and killed while driving a taxi in East Orange almost nine years ago. Since his death, those whom he grew up with in Orange reconnected and formed the 124 group in his memory, organizing the Hassan C. Miller Jr. annual Basketball Classic for the last eight years and, for the last three years, awarding scholarships to local high school graduates pursuing a higher education.
The organization, known as the “124 group,” consists of Vanlee Garba, president; Fred Williams, vice president; Gary Davis, secretary; Lamont Violet, treasurer; Jetteau Soiro, board director; Tim Thompson; Charles Jeter; and Charles Hardy. Dawan Alford of the H.A.N.D.S. organization served as the group’s community ambassador and advisory chairman.
This year’s scholarship recipients are Alexus Richardson, Najee Quashie, Niageria May-Ricks and Rasheed Boyd. Boyd is the son of local Orange High School basketball legend and youth basketball coach Terry Boyd, who was also honored at the 124 event, along with Orange High School head football coach Randy Daniel and South Ward Councilwoman Jamie Summers-Johnson.
A special Lifetime Achievement Award was also presented to Ross S. Wright, an Orange scholar who received the very first Hassan C. Miller Scholarship, which allowed him to pursue his education. He was at the event Tuesday, June 2, to serve as a presenter and speaker, and told those in attendance that he is doing well in college and currently has a 3.2 grade-point average.
Professor Bahiyyah Muhammad of Howard University, another friend of Miller’s, was the keynote speaker at the event.
“I’m actually here for two reasons: One, I’m receiving an award and also my son,” said the elder Boyd on Friday, June 2, at the event. “I think 124 is a great organization and how they give back to the community. I’m very proud of Dawan and those guys and the whole organization.”
According to Boyd, the best thing about the 124 group is they are homegrown Orange natives who give back to the community. He also applauded having the Hassan C. Miller Scholarship Dinner on National Gun Violence Awareness Day, the same day Alford joined Orange Preparatory Academy’s Reggie Miller, another Orange native, in hosting an anti-violence event at the middle school.
“Especially being back in the community, doing it in our community, that’s a good thing,” said Boyd. “We’ve got to start staying home to build up our community and I think it’s a great thing that local guys are involved. Reggie’s been involved in the community for a long time, just like I have been. I think it’s great that they’re raising awareness about gun violence and the things that we have to stop in our community.”
The event also doubled as a celebration, since the 124 group had just achieved official status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
“When you start going into the communities and picking these younger individuals up and showing them step by step what they need to do, two thumbs up,” said Muhammad on Friday, June 2. “When you’re giving scholarships to individuals, black male individuals, who are coming back up and saying ‘I have a 3.2 GPA, yes, I’m in the building. It’s a big, big, big thing.”
Orange High School athletic director and Assistant Principal Mohammed Abdel Aziz agreed with Muhammad. Earlier in the day, he had joined Alford and Miller at Orange Preparatory Academy for the National Gun Violence Awareness Day anti-violence rally and, that night, he was at the Elks with the 124 group.
“I’ve got my kids here in Orange and I’ve got to support them and I’m here for them tonight and I was outside this afternoon in support of the fight against gun violence,” Aziz said Friday, June 2. “It’s sad and that’s why we have to stand up to those things that are wrong, that we don’t want our kids to go through, and that’s why I stood out there today, because those are the only ways that we can actually make changes, by showing people that we do care about it. A silent protest is one of the most profound ways to show to do that.”
Aziz also applauded awarding the scholarships, and Alford confirmed this was the reason the organization was developed in the first place.
“We did a lot of things, but none of it was fulfilling for us,” said Alford on Friday, June 2. “Then, one day we got that call. We all drift apart. That day, we all got that call that our brother Hassan had been killed and it changed us, because it made us tighter than we had ever been. That’s why we are where we are, having this third annual Scholarship Dinner. The problem is, no one is trying to come up with a solution. We’ve got to be the change.”
The 124 group’s next scheduled event is the ninth annual Hassan C. Miller Jr. annual Basketball Classic in August. For more information about the 124 group and other upcoming activities, projects and services, contact President Vanlee Garba at 862-438-1745 or Vgarba124@gmail.com.
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