Teach youth skills for nonviolence, speaker says at MLK breakfast in Elgin

Violence, both overt and subtle, seems to permeate our lives more than ever, and especially dangerous is the lure of hateful speech on social media.

The answer to that is, simply, nonviolence, from which we must never waver and which we should always model for our youth, keynote speaker Junaid Afeef told a crowd of more than 200 gathered Saturday in Elgin to commemorate the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Most importantly, we must teach youth the skills to use nonviolence, Afeef said, pointing to the successes of the Civil Rights Movement and India's efforts to achieve independence from the British.

"Our youth and the whole of our society must be resistant to the lure of violence," said Afeef, who serves as director of the targeted violence prevention program at the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. "We must believe to our core that nonviolence can truly bring about change."

The theme of the 32nd Annual Prayer Breakfast held at Elgin Community College was, in King's words, "Nonviolence is the answer ... the foundation of such method is love."

Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein of Congregation Kneseth Israel received the 2017 Dr. King Humanitarian Award for her actions, including pushing for the removal of a Confederate flag from a Kane County flea market last summer and speaking up for the rights of a middle school transgender student last fall.

Also nominated for the award were Danielle Henson of Gail Borden Public Library and Tony Sanders, CEO of Elgin Area School District U-46.

Afeef spoke at length about "the scourge of ideologically inspired, targeted violence."

He pointed to the examples of Dylann Roof, who last week was sentenced to death for murdering nine black parishioners in June 2015 at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, and Omar Mateen, who was killed in a shootout with police after he murdered 49 people and wounded 53 others in June at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

Such horrific actions sow fear and spark hate toward those who are identified with the perpetrators, and "invariably innocent people in that 'other' category are vilified and isolated," he said. "They are made to suffer hateful words and hateful deeds."

That, in turn, creates a cycle of violence that "strains the tides of social cohesion built over lifetimes of struggles," Afeef said.

We must also be cognizant that coming up with solutions brings up constitutional questions relating to the First and Second amendments, or freedom of speech and religion and the right to bear arms, along with questions about racial and religious profiling, he said.

"These are among the crucial political and moral questions of our times," he said.

Pastor Bob Whitt, who works as community outreach liaison for the police department, praised Elgin for being "one of few cities that is making a difference" through events like Saturday's. "Well done, city of Elgin, in understanding that nonviolence is a powerful process for social change."

Afeef implored people to be vigilant and take action if they see someone begin to fall prey to the seduction of violence.

"Instead of bystanders, we need to be gatekeepers of others' well-being," he said. "What do we do for the least of our brothers and sisters? Do we merely lookout for our own personal interest or do we look out for the interest of others?"