Member Spotlight: Barbara Velazquez

For Black history month, we’ll be shining our member spotlight on some of our black members who are taking action to make our community better. And who better to start with than Executive Committee member, and chair of the Racial Justice Committee, Dr. Barbara Velazquez!

Let's start with a brief bio: where you're from, when did you come to the area, what you do, that kind of stuff...

 I grew up in NYC in Morningside Heights not far from Columbia University. I moved to Orange when I got married and then moved to Maplewood. Upon my divorce, I returned to school and got my Masters and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. I have been in private practice in Maplewood since 2001. Working as a psychologist satisfied my need to help others, but I always had a problem with the way things worked in our society. I wondered why people ignored the pain of others? Why do we have to work jobs that break our spirits, instead of those that raise us up? and why, back in the nineties, did the GOP seem to want to take money away from people who needed it. Were they just evil? At the time, I decided they couldn't be. They just for some strange reason thought that was the best thing for our Nation -  I have since changed my mind about that. All this encouraged me to get a group of friends together to create the "Visions of a Better World" conference in 2009 at Seton Hall, and the "Maplewood is Kind" initiative. Finally, in 2013, I joined the SOMA Community Coalition on Race where I found meaningful work.  Among other things, I was project manager of the XRootsFest Multicultural festival that ran for 5 years in SOMA.

Can you recall when you first heard about SOMA Action? What made you decide to get involved?

 Then along came November 2016. Like so many others I was dumbfounded and very worried. Somehow, I heard about the now famous meeting at the Hilton Library. The organizers expected about 20 people and over 200 showed up. It was exhilarating and inspiring to join with so many people who wanted to DO something about what was happening. This was the kind of group I had been looking for all these years. I was in from the jump and the rest was history. I found out that I was what you call progressive. Great! finally a name for what I had been all my life, and finally people who saw the world as I did. I went from being on the Steering Committee to being a member of the Executive Committee  (EC) and the SOMA Action Trustees and most importantly doing truly meaningful work.

Tell us about the main focus of your work with our organization.

 In addition to my work on the EC, I have taken on the role of providing cohesiveness to our committee chairs and providing a liaison between them and the SOMA Action Leadership. My favorite role is being the Chair of the Racial Justice Committee. The Racial Justice Committee - mainly yours truly - along with the Religious Justice Committee played a large role in distributing the "Hate Has No Place in SOMA" and the "In SOMA We Stand Together" signs that you see all over town. In addition, under the rubric of the SOMA Against Hate Collective, the Racial and Religious Justice Committees recently helped a couple experiencing homophobia in their Orange community to successfully advocate for protection and bias training from their town. 

What historical figures inspire you?

 I hate to be predictable, but I have to say Dr. Martin Luther King. He exemplifies for me the power of One. His fearless determination, his dedication to non-violence, His powerfully inspiring speeches. He accomplished during thirteen years of activism (1955-1968) what most people would have thought impossible to accomplish in 100 years. He is an awe-inspiring figure with a will of steel, who did not let the apparent impossibility of the task before him end his mission one iota. "Aint gonna let nobody turn us 'round," that's my mantra. His work paved the way for the second person who inspires me who is Barack Obama. First Black President! Wow!, who would have thought it possible when Dr. King started the  bus boycott or spoke about his Dream at the March on Washington. And to see President Obama so revered by my fellow liberals and progressives fills me with pride. President Obama held the title of "Most Admired Man” for 12 years. 

What is your favorite quote?

"The Purpose of Life is a Life of Purpose." Thoreau said, "Most men live lives of quiet desperation" I believe this is because they have no sense of meaning and purpose in their lives. That is why I had to leave corporate America and return to school.