DATE: Friday, October 17, 1997              TAG: 9710170648

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TERRI WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   67 lines

YOUTH ARE FOCUS OF MARCH'S ANNIVERSARY

``Young, Gifted and Atoned.''

That was the message that reverberated most of Thursday at Willett Hall during a gathering commemorating the second anniversary of the Million Man March.

But by mid-afternoon, only about 120 people had turned out for the celebration of the historic march held in 1995 in Washington, D.C. Another anniversary event scheduled at Norfolk's Lafayette Park was canceled due to the rain, said organizer Okeba Kwame.

But the sparse turnout didn't deter the brotherhood and love that seemed to emanate among those gathered at Willett Hall.

Participants, many dressed in colorful, African robes, embraced and greeted each other as ``Brother'' and ``Sister.'' Norfolk Nation of Islam leader Shelton Muhammad described it as a ``family gathering.''

But in all families, they conceded, there are problems.

The focus of the commemoration was the need for the community to do more for youth, especially in light of the melee Tuesday at Portsmouth's Woodrow Wilson High School. Racial and neighborhood tensions may have sparked the incident, which sent three pregnant students to the hospital and 22 others to the school nurse, students say.

Event organizers say there also will be a town hall meeting in November to discuss what the community can do for youth. A time and place have not been announced.

One by one, various Hampton Roads community leaders spoke about the need to help teens turn away from violence, as well as to get along with youths of other ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Virginia Beach NAACP President Sandra Smith-Jones told the audience that gubernatorial candidates Donald S. Beyer Jr. and James S. Gilmore III should focus on improving the quality of life for children instead of negative campaigning.

``There are problems with race relations,'' Smith-Jones said. ``Do we need another reminder of such? . . . Our children are screaming from the depths of their soul to be heard; they want to be cared for.''

Muhammad said young people need spiritual direction and leadership from adults. He said too often adults give up on helping youths.

``Many of us proclaim God, but say the youth can't be reached,'' Muhammad told the crowds. ``How can something God created not be reached?''

While local community leaders spoke on stage, Khalid (Luther) Laroche, 27, stood in the hall's foyer, cradling his son to his chest.

Laroche said little Khalid, 1 1/2 years old, had become disruptive, so the two of them were taking a respite. Yet the message the leaders spoke of was one he already plans to teach his son when he gets older.

``I have to tell him to love himself; then he'll learn to love others who are not like him,'' Laroche said.

For other event participants, the anniversary reinforced a need for personal inventory.

Larry D. Beale, 48, a lawyer from Louisville, said attendingthe Million Man March heightened his spirituality. Beale, who plans to relocate to Hampton Roads, said he has new meaning in his life and profession. He credits the atonement process that the March called for as part of the reason. He said he plans to focus more on family, spirituality and using his career as a way to reach out to others.

``It's psychologically necessary to address what went wrong in our lives and how we can end it,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian-Pilot

Jermaine Powell, of Chesapeake, awaits a broadcast of Nation of

Islam leader Louis Farrakhan's speech in Willet Hall on Thursday.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu