His Youth Work

I am here to say a few words of tribute about a man I knew. I feel very keenly that his spirit is with us and that I can say, ‘Thanks, Alec, for being a volunteer, for freely donating your time to the young people of this nation.”

I am on the staff of the Boys Clubs of America, and I had a part to play in the development of the booklet Another Look At Youth's Search For Identity. The genesis of that booklet had to do with Dr. Martin's belief that the training of anyone in the helping professions ought to include an experience working with youth at the community level. He practiced that in his lifetime, and I do not know how he stretched his time so as to encompass as much as I have heard described tonight. Somehow, on a regular weekly basis, he managed to spend time at the Children's Aid Society Center in Harlem, or Chinatown, or on the West Side. He spent time with staff and with young people there, but not as a doctor. In the Centers he was known as Mr. Martin. You would find him in the game room playing checkers, chess, or pool. Or in the library chatting one-to-one, or on the playground watching the kids play.

You would also see him in sessions with the Center staff, not just the professional staff, but all the staff including the secretaries and the janitors. He felt that everyone who came into contact with a child had a bit of information about that child which could be helpful to those who were trying to work with that individual.

In Youth's Search For Identity, Dr. Martin spoke of the importance of the gatekeeper, the individual who first made contact with young people each day when they came to the Center. He believed that every individual who comes into contact with a young person is a role model and has the opportunity to open up vistas and doors of opportunity for youth; this depends on the way we greet and respond to their initial greeting. Dr. Martin's greetings were always positive experiences.

Dr. Martin also volunteered as a consultant to Boys Clubs of