With a goal of making the Cherry Hill community a better place for all to live, the Cherry Hill African-American Civic Association has kept its promise.
CHAACA recently celebrated its 35th anniversary with a cherry blossom jazz luncheon. The association also celebrated 31 years of awarding scholarships to deserving Cherry Hill high school seniors.
“The group first started for African-Americans, so they, too, could feel part of the community,” said Pat McCargo, who has been a member of the association for nearly 30 years and has served as corresponding secretary for the last 15 years.
She said her dedication to the group comes naturally.
After all, she is married to the president, William McCargo, who has served in the top spot for the last 15 years.
“Both Bill and I were active in the community and thought the logical thing would be to check it out,” Pat McCargo said.
And 30 years later, they still find the motivation to keep working toward a better Cherry Hill.
The association holds fundraisers each year to raise money to give to deserving high school seniors in the township. Some years, there’s money for two and some years, they can fund 12 students, Pat McCargo said.
This year, the association was able to award eight, $1,000 scholarships.
Local businesses also chip in to aid the students, including the Ravitz family of Cherry Hill, which inspired the “Stanley Ravitz Scholarship.”
Bill McCargo, a retired member of the Cherry Hill Police Department, said he’s happy to give back to the community through his work with the association.
“I see the greatness in this organization, so sincere, to enrich life within the community as well as abroad,” Bill said. “There are people from all walks of life — members of the school district, engineers and lawyers. It’s been a wonderful pleasure service as president in the community.”
The group is knit close to the school district, Pat McCargo said, and works with officials to make the district’s Black History Performance a reality each year.
Members of CHAACA also meet with school district administrators and teachers from time to time to speak about ways to make the classroom a safe place for all students.
About 10 years ago, members of CHAACA worked hand-in-hand with the school district to find a solution to how to teach students about Mark Twain’s novel, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”
The book includes racially offensive and derogatory language, but members of CHAACA said that wasn’t enough to keep all students from reading it.
“There was a call to abolish it and not to teach it because it was harmful to our students,” Pat McCargo said. “We sat down with administrators and parents to come up with a solution not to ban the book.”
Before reading the book, students in the Cherry Hill School District are now given a talk about race relations and sensitivity. And teachers get training on how to read the book with students, as well.
McCargo said the group’s collaborative efforts with the school district helped to set a national precedent as to how to teach the book in public schools.
“It was a tense time at first — discussing what impact the book had on students — but it was a great discussion,” she said.
CHAACA continues to work with the school district and the township to improve the dialogue between the entities. She said she is thankful for previous mayoral support, as well as support from Mayor Chuck Cahn.
She said she’s thankful for the small steps being taken the community, as well, like adding the student advocate position in the district, which acts as a liaison between administrators and students, as well as furthering the work of the minority achievement committee.
McCargo said the group is proud of how far it has come in 35 years, from the relationships formed to the students helped. But most of all, the association is celebrating something even bigger — it’s voice.
“I’m always astonished by parents who think they can’t make a difference themselves,” Pat McCargo said. “I’m happy we’re that somebody that can say it for them.”
For more information on CHAACA, to get involved or donate, visit, www.chaaca.org.
