When Lawrence High School social studies teacher Jametta Clarke learned that she would receive the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP) Freedom Fund Award, she was shocked.
“My first thought was, ‘Why me? What did I do (to receive the award),'” said Clarke, who is the founder and coordinator of the high school’s annual Black History Month program. She also created the Lawrence High School Gospel Choir and leads the Black Student Union.
The NAACP’s Freedom Fund Award is given to individuals who are committed to advancing social justice, equity, education, activism and human rights. It was originally known as the NAACP Fund for Freedom to raise money for the causes of equity and civil rights, but its name and purpose were changed after the murder of Medgar Evers, the NAACP Mississippi field secretary, in 1963.
“I was nominated because of the work I have done at school, at church and at my sorority,” Clarke said. “My purpose in life is to try to make the world a better place. All of us have a role to play, and I am doing my part.”
Clarke is the founder and coordinator of Lawrence High School’s Black History Month celebration, which is the largest student-led such celebration in New Jersey, she said. The event highlights Black history and culture, and itself hands out “Trailblazer” awards to those who have made contributions to the community.
The Black History Month committee, which organizes the event held in February during Black History Month, includes students from various backgrounds, she said.
“I select the students for their diverse perspectives to put the Black History Month celebration together,” she said. “They learn how to work with people of other backgrounds.
“They learn and appreciate each other and all their differences and similarities. It is DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion – in action.”
Clarke also wrote the African American and social justice courses, ensuring that students received a comprehensive understanding of diverse perspectives.
She also leads the Black Student Union, and created the Lawrence High School Gospel Choir. She is one of the choir directors at Union Baptist Church in Trenton, where she worships.
Clarke said that when she created the Lawrence High School Gospel Choir 13 years ago, she sought to focus on the interests of the students. Gospel music is important in the Black community.
“There are students of all races in the Gospel Choir,” she said. “I encourage all students to join, not just Black students. The emphasis is on DEI … in the Gospel Choir.”
When the 30 voices of students of all backgrounds in the Lawrence High School Gospel Choir join together, “it sounds amazing,” she said.
“That’s what life is supposed to be, to put us together,” Clarke said. “Look at what we can accomplish. That’s what I try to do with the Gospel Choir and Black History Month and in the classroom – to be authentic.”
Outside of the classroom, Clarke is active in the Epsilon Upsilon Omega chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. in Trenton. The chapter is 116 years old, she said.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority focuses on community service. It tries to empower, enrich and educate the community to the best of its ability – locally and internationally, she said.
Clarke said that much of what she does is the result of her parents’ influence. Her father, the late Rev. James Clarke Jr., was a pastor of a Black church in Marengo County, Ala., and a civil rights activist.
“It is part of my spirit – to be the change you want to see,” Clarke said. “My parents groomed me to do what I do. I feel like everything I do now is in memory of my parents.
“Their legacy continues.”
