By Ryan Makuch
For near a year now, the CLR Academy has been helmed by a communal effort of some of the most actively-engaged people in Washtenaw County. The program’s success is thanks to several people, but it would not all have been possible without the work put in by community activist and CLR Director Justin Harper.
Harper’s journey helping the youth was not an overnight thing. For the better part of 20 years, Harper has served in various capacities that have allowed the opportunity to aid young people on their journeys into adulthood. Whether that has been as a paraeducator, a lunch supervisor, or a child care supervisor for Ann Arbor Public Schools, or whether that’s been as an official or coach for various youth sporting leagues, Harper has been actively involved in his community, which has given him the ability to see and address his community’s needs.
Harper simply loves people, which he freely admits. “I see a lot of good where some people might not, and I see a lot of opportunity in those places where I see good for the world to be a better place,” he would say. Harper also would add, “I think oftentimes people focus on the negative more than they do the positive, and often the negative attention gets all the eyes.” This all feels especially true when discussing children, and the benefits that having programming like CLR Academy can have on helping to provide positive environments for young people to form community. As Harper also noted, we are all in this together. “Making some progress, even if it’s small steps, is better than none.”
Like many of us, Harper’s trajectory changed during the pandemic when opportunities to aid the youth began to dry up as a result of the early-lockdown measures put in place. The time off and at home was also a time to reflect for Harper, who had a heart-to-heart talk with himself on how to help make an impact at home.
“Just working with kids, I see where there are a lot of needs,” said Harper. “Sometimes the school system is not providing the actual tools for all the kids to be successful. And my heart will say, well, what can I do to fill that gap. So I was just thinking about ways to say, hey, how can this happen.”
On his search for like-minded individuals looking to make an impact, Nick Lacy, Chair of The Mighty Oak Project, directed him to Bilal Saeed. From there the two of them, alongside Jamall Bufford of WMBK (Washtenaw My Brother’s Keeper), who Harper previously knew and collaborated with on ‘End the Violence’ walks in Ypsilanti, began to regularly meet and discuss the project that would eventually become CLR.
On a daily basis, Harper collaborates regularly with fellow community leaders engaging in discussion as to how their respective organizations can assist in the well-being of the community. Harper places massive emphasis on collaboration, sharing with AFCAA that he feels strongly about smaller groups coming together and gaining more momentum on shared social issues.
Plans continue to be set into place to ensure the quality summer programming that the children of Washtenaw County deserve and will hopefully come to expect from CLR. This includes continued collaborative efforts with other groups like Community Reads and Supreme Felons, as well as the potential for expansion from the lone site in Superior Township on MacArthur Blvd. into the south side of Ypsilanti and, as in the first summer’s worth of programming, getting the youth engaged in what’s going on.
On plans of expansion, Harper notes that it’s important to keep an open dialogue with the community and see what would be good for them. “We wanna engage with the community and say, ‘Okay, what’s going to be beneficial for these kids to have an experience where they are going to build an impression to have for a lifetime.’”
When asked about the highlights of the first year, Harper wasted no time in answering, “The kids being able to have the excitement in their own neighborhood.” He would expand upon that initial answer, saying, “For them to build camaraderie and have experiences – I love being able to see kids, even when CLR had to stop over the summer, to see kids that were still engaged playing basketball together, throwing the football together, talking about the things they experienced at CLR, it’s beautiful to see.”
Harper hopes that the bonds these kids form during the summers attending CLR Academy can keep them close for years to come. “It’s about them being able to have those great experiences that they can hold onto,” he would say about the purpose and function of the Academy.
With the 2022 league season now just months away, and a return to the pitch on the horizon for AFCAA, Harper is also looking forward to having exposing more and more kids to the potential of playing soccer. Harper would also hit on an age-old parental adage when discussing soccer, saying, “If you don’t try something, you don’t know! It might be something you’re great at!” He would continue, saying, “I think that if we actually engage and we push more soccer availability for people that haven’t been exposed, it gives the people a chance to go explore and see if they have another niche.” He would add, “I’m really interested in having children just participate to see what could come out of it.”
Coach Harper leading a dynamic warmup at Parkridge Community Center
CLR Academy, WMBK, and other community-led organizations are champions of change, but Harper sees several important areas to address when striving for a real end to income segregation. Harper sees elevating people into office that believe this is a top-priority as something very important as this current juncture. Harper also stated that a cultural shift is important, with the collective public needing to see and understand that hard work and money do not always correlate, and instead to look at the symptoms of income inequality and treat those.
Harper also understands that this is not just an issue here at home, but rather across the nation. In the years to come, Harper hopes to expand across cities and states, but for now he understands the importance of treating issues at home, in more ways than one. He would say, “I think it’s important to be able to start at home. The reason I say that is because you typically know the environment around you. You also have to be able to see if what you are doing is successful, and why is it successful.”
With the work he has done in both a short time with CLR Academy and over an impressive career as a paraeducator, among many other roles, Justin Harper’s commitment to ensuring a safe and positive future for the youth that he impacts reflect a loving heart and an empathetic and caring mind. This also only goes to show the importance of people like him in missions like that of CLR Academy.
About AFC Ann Arbor
Association Football Club Ann Arbor (AFC Ann Arbor) was founded in 2014, and competes in USL2 (men’s) and USLW (women’s) national amateur leagues. We are a community-based club, focused on equity, justice, and anti-racism. We consider all of our stakeholders, including supporters, players, staff, and ownership to be part of the #AFCAAFamily. Come On You Mighty Oak!