Manchester Township Middle School celebrated the accomplishments of black Americans with a special assembly program featuring the school’s gospel chorus and special guests Major Wendy Galloway and Lt. Frank Davis of the NJ State Police.

Teacher Evelyn Swift, who is the advisor for the Gospel Chorus as well as the organizer of the assembly program, told students that it wasn’t until the last 25 years or so that the accomplishments of black Americans were included in history books and classes.  “The only real mention of black history was in relation to slavery,” she said.

Introducing the Gospel Chorus, Swift told the audience that gospel music transcends race, age, religion and gender and has influenced much of the popular music we listen to today. To prove her point, she showed slides of musicians including Aretha Franklin, Beyonce Knowles, Alice Cooper, Elvis Presley and the rock group Creed.  “Do you know what all of these artists have in common?” she asked.  “They all started in gospel music.”

The chorus, which consists of 45 students, gave a rousing performance that drew loud cheers and applause from the audience.

Swift introduced Major Galloway, who is the Commanding Officer of Community Affairs for the State Police, and Lt. Davis, who is charge of recruiting.  “Major Galloway is also one of the highest ranking females and people of color in the State Police,” Swift added.

Davis and Galloway began by showing a recruitment video that demonstrated the NJ State Police Department’s core values of honor, duty and fidelity.  They explained that the State Police work all over the state in many different types of jobs, not just patrolling the highways and writing tickets.  Davis said there are over 100 jobs, including helicopter pilots, the bomb squad, and the canine unit.  “But every officer spends their first few years on patrol,” he said.

What really got the students’ attention, however, was Lt. Davis’s announcement that the starting salary of a State Police Officer is $58,748, with a raise to over $65,000 after the first year of service.  More experienced officers, he said, make over $100,000 a year.  “But to qualify you must go to college - you need 60 college credits unless you have a military waiver and then you need 30,” he told the students.  “Education is extremely important, and there is also a physical fitness test.”  Recruits spend six months in training at the NJ State Police Academy.

Swift told the students, “People should know that the contributions of African Americans and people of color are more than just musicians and athletes.”  Galloway and Davis were certainly good examples of that.

For more information about the NJ State Police, go to www.njsp.org .