A hero’s lasting legacy
By Toney Jackson
As a child attending Nellie K. Parker School, I walked through halls holding history. The school’s namesake, Nellie Katherine Morrow Parker was the first Black teacher in Bergen County, battling racism and discrimination with grace, determination and dignity. Today, as a Nellie K. Parker Elementary School (NKP) teacher, I have the honor and duty of sharing her story and legacy.
On Sept. 30, the Hackensack community came out to celebrate Parker’s life.
Parker achieved her dream of becoming a teacher in 1922, despite the barriers she faced. She was one of the first, if not the first, Black teachers in Northern New Jersey. Her contributions to education and New Jersey’s rich history are shining examples of the enduring values of civic-mindedness, diversity, equity and inclusion the Hackensack School District seeks to practice and impart to all students and stakeholders.
Planning a community celebration
In 2016, Nellie K. Parker School Day was proclaimed in Bergen County by the Board of Chosen Freeholders (now the Bergen County Board of Commissioners) at an event celebrating the 35th anniversary of the renaming of Maple Hill School to Nellie K. Parker Elementary School. Parker’s story and legacy are part of history shared by everyone in Hackensack regardless of what school they attend.
The idea for this community event sprang from a desire to make sure that Parker’s story continues to be told and resonates for generations to come. With the help of NKP instructional coach and fellow former NKP student Arlena Brinson-Jones, we built our plan around a three part goal: engage, enlighten and encourage.
We aimed to engage our diverse community by inviting all stakeholders to participate, enlighten through sharing Parker’s story and its relevance to Hackensack’s history, and encourage others to continue the inspiring work she started. We shared our vision with our principal, Lillian Whitaker, who drew on her own deep ties in the community to help us choose our invited panelists and guests.
Co-workers collaborate for a cause
Brinson-Jones and I recruited current and former employees to help bring the idea to fruition. Staff members performed and helped with decorations, acted as ushers and served dinner and refreshments to guests. The dinner was catered by Paula’s Soul Food Cafe, with sweet treats from Pat’s Delites, two of the city’s culinary gems. All of the food was provided thanks to an NJEA Public Education Partnership grant received through the Hackensack Education Association (HEA).
“Nellie K. Parker’s legacy is a reminder that our impact as educators extends beyond those who appear on our class rosters each year,” said HEA President Caseen Gaines, who himself is an NKP alum. “She served her community with grace and love, never forgetting who she was, even though the community didn’t always appreciate and accept her. Her work continues in the work we all do in our classrooms and communities each day.”
The program was an ambitious undertaking and required help on all fronts.
“Once the word was out about what we were trying to do to honor Parker, staff members came out and selflessly volunteered their time to make it happen,” Brinson-Jones recalled. “I thought perhaps we’d have some difficulty finding enough panelists for the program, however that was certainly not the case. Each and every panelist we contacted excitedly accepted our invitation to participate.”
In a moment that surely made Parker’s soul smile, an NKP staff choir led by Principal Lillian Whitaker sang a song saluting Parker. The group’s glorious harmonies and gospel stylings resounded throughout the auditorium, delivering lyrics that painted a picture of Parker’s impact.
This is what community looks like
Months of planning culminated in a powerful and enriching evening featuring a panel of distinguished guests discussing Nellie K. Parker’s impact and legacy. The panel included municipal historian Albert Dib; former Hackensack Board of Education (HBOE) Trustee Harold Williams; clerk to the Board of Bergen County Commissioners, former NKP parent and former HBOE President Lara Politt; Superintendent Anthony Marseglia; current Hackensack Superintendent Dr. Thomas McBryde Jr.; current NKP Principal Lillian Whitaker, parishioner and friend of Parker, Brenda Perkins; and retired Hackensack teacher and lifelong resident Rosemary Flowers-Jackson.
The Honorable Judge Sandra Ann Robinson, a former student of Parker, was not physically present, but I shared quotes from an interview she granted me weeks earlier. I asked her how she and her classmates felt in Parker’s classroom.
“We felt loved,” she said.
The panelists shared keen insights from their experiences with Parker and the city and schools of Hackensack. I had the joy of hosting the event and posing questions of the panelists. Anecdotes recounted Nellie K. Parker’s kind spirit, powerful persistence, care, courage and true devotion to her students and to education.
“I thought it was really cool,” said Ramon Flores, a fourth grader at NKP. “I liked that they had a bunch of different people sharing their experiences. I liked how they had some people who actually met Nellie K. Parker, and how they taught me a lot about her and the school.”
An event to remember
Reflecting on what made Parker a force for good in both the schools and surrounding community, panelist Brenda Perkins noted that “harmony” was Parker’s gift. Parker created beautiful harmonies as a musician, leading and accompanying choirs in churches and teaching piano lessons outside of school. She also brought harmony to the lives of students and others in and out of the classroom, striking all the right notes to comfort and inspire.
As the evening concluded, attendees reflected on Parker’s lasting impact, which we will certainly continue to carry forward.
Toney Jackson is a fourth-grade teacher at Nellie K. Parker School in Hackensack, which he attended as a student. He is a poet, illustrator and speaker. Jackson can be reached through toneyjackson.com.