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Four indicted for murder, robbery
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Vol. 87 No. 4
JANUARY 20 - 26, 2022
Freeporters recall MLK at museum event By ReiNe BethANY rbethany@liherald.com
Reine Bethany/Herald
MoNet GReeN, leFt, and Anthony Richards, right, showed Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman a display in the Royals Room of the Joysetta and Julius Pearse African American Museum of Nassau County before a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event on Monday.
When new Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman toured the African American Museum of Nassau County on Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, he was greeted by Freeporter Julius Pearse, 87, who was Freeport’s first Black police officer in 1961 and is a lifelong civil rights advocate. Pearse has overseen the museum since his wife, Joysetta, died last June. She had been executive director of the gallery, on North Franklin Street, since 2012. Together, the couple
had run the African Atlantic Genealogical Society from an office in the museum since 1994, and Pearse still oversees that as well. Before a 2:30 p.m. program in the museum auditorium, Blakeman checked out the museum’s extensive exhibits with volunteers Monet Green, Anthony Richards and Audrey Hadden. Once Monday’s program started, Pearse was asked to speak by Green, the emcee. He told of how he had come to Long Island from North Carolina in the late 1950s because his Continued on page 12
Celebrating Freeport students’ college success stories By ReiNe BethANY rbethany@liherald.com
Since Jan. 3, the Herald has received the names of eight Freeport students who were honored recently for excellence in their college work. One student, Dezarae Hall, responded to a request to speak about herself and why she made the Dean’s List at the College of Saint Rose, in Albany, for the fall 2021 semester. We offer brief profiles of the others below hers.
herald: Dezarae, what year are you in college? Dezarae: I’m a third-year stu-
dent, graduating class of 2023. I major in psychology, with a concentration in clinical counseling and a minor in social work.
herald: Why did you choose the College of Saint Rose, a private Catholic college in Albany? Dezarae: I’ve never been a big
fan of change, so I was supernervous to go away for college. I loved all of my friends and family back home and wished that I could just bring everyone with me to keep everything the same. When looking at colleges, I was desperately searching for that familiar, warm, comfortable,
cozy feeling that being back home brought me. . . . After my first campus visit, I knew that I had finally found the right place to call home. I loved the atmosphere, the people and everything Saint Rose had to offer. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
herald: What is it like to know you made the Dean’s list? Dezarae: It feels like I’ve truly made it. All of my hard work, time and effort are paying off. I’m doing all the right things and just need to continue down this path. College isn’t the easiest at times, but this proves to me that
despite the obstacles I may have to face, I can still rise to the top in the end when I continue to try my very best, no matter what.
herald: You graduated from Freeport high School. how do you think the Freeport School District prepared you for college?
Dezarae: I feel like Freeport
schools have given me all the tools I needed to begin preparing for the next stage in my life. School is where I first really began unlocking my true passion for psychology. . . . I remember in 10th grade, I took my first psychology class just as an elective and I was hooked. . . . By the Continued on page 16