EAST ORANGE, NJ – Mayor Ted Green hosted a “Revive the Village” community event at Cicely Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts.
The event was highlighted by special guest, Dr. Chris T. Parnell, who is a noted public health expert and public change agent. Parnell spoke about understanding what it means to be “revived,” which was the central theme of the event.
“Reviving talks about taking something that needs resuscitation or revitalization so that it might be its most powerful and thrive,” Parnell said. “In order to do that, you have to understand the status quo so that you can get to a place of healing and restoration.”
Parnell also discussed the role that equity and justice plays in reviving a village and allowing people to live their best lives and achieve the greatest version of themselves.
“Equity is a process and justice is an outcome,” Parnell said. “Specifically, health equity being defined as the opportunity for all people to achieve their highest state of health. The opportunity to breathe clean air, to walk safe streets, to play or engage in physical activity without the threat of physical, psychological, emotional or verbal violence.”
There were 25 vendors at the March 25 event, offering mental health, legal, family, domestic violence, medical and job creation services for residents.
After Parnell’s speech, people had the chance to attend classes to discuss family trauma, family court, gun violence or get advice on how to be better parents. Green spoke during one of these classes, giving residents advice on how to be the best version of themselves and uplift their community.
“Please lean on and help each other, because that is how you build a community,” Green said to the class. “Thank you all for coming out, you are all doing what you can and it shows because you are here.”
Councilman Christopher Awe also spoke to the class, emphasizing the lessons that he learned while listening to the classes and reiterating his commitment to serving East Orange.
“Thank you all for your wisdom, I have learned a lot,” Awe said. “As a public servant, it is my goal to make things better than before, the impact that mothers, sisters and women have in our lives and our communities cannot be downplayed. I plan to put a greater emphasis on that in my work, we need all of you to be better taken care of and looked after. We need our schools to be better, we need our children to be better, and those things start at home.”
Green spoke about his motivation to help organize this first ever event for East Orange.
“There were many requests from residents to hold an event like this after seeing teenagers in the community turn to drugs, alcohol and violence as coping mechanisms during quarantine,” Green said. “So, I gave an assignment to members of my team to put together an event with local organizations that could help provide services to both parents and kids in the community. I want kids to have better coping mechanisms to ensure that they have the best chance of success for their future.”
Parnell elaborated on Green’s words for teens, parents and community members to have better coping skills and conditions to “revive” East Orange.
“You cannot ask people to be revived and then go home to concentrated poverty,” Parnell said during her speech. “It is disingenuous, the highest level or state of health is to be born, to live, to age, to work and to pray without barriers or inequality. To have access to high income, competitive job opportunities, access to high quality education and housing. Our communities are saddled with disproportionate rates of chronic health conditions. Such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and mental illness, which is a function of a system that denies health equity.”
As the event went on, residents had the opportunity to sign up for a massage from blissful body works, win swag bags and other prizes via a raffle.
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