One night, when he was in ninth or tenth grade, former New Jersey Attorney General Peter C. Harvey and his friends attempted to rob a beer truck when it pulled over to make a delivery.
The friends thought they could just grab a case of beer and flee, but the driver came out as they were running, fired a gun and called the police, eventually getting everyone in a "whole lot of trouble," Harvey said Wednesday, as he told the story to a group of students at the Edith Williams Alternative Academy.
That moment changed Harvey’s life, he said, and from then on, he resolved to make his own decisions and not just follow what his friends were doing. The moral, Harvey told the students, is that the time to make good decisions and separate yourselves from the bad decisions of others is now – before it’s too late.
"The thing about petty crime is, none of us is really smart enough to pull it off," Harvey said. "The jails are filled with guys that weren’t able to pull off the perfect crime."
Harvey’s appearance at EWAA Wednesday wrapped up two days worth of visits to schools on St. Thomas as part of the local Omega Psi Phi chapter’s "Achievement Week" celebrations. Harvey, who is also a member of the fraternity, pledged at Morgan State University along with the local chapter president, Jerry Petersen, who is also the physical education teacher at Edith Williams.
Omega Psi Phi member John Heyliger explained, "That’s where the connection came in, but we really thought the attorney would be able to talk to and relate to the kids on a personal level."
"We wanted to put a positive role model in front of them. Not everyone starts out on the right path, but at some point, the students have to know that they will have to take responsibility for their actions and do something different."
Harvey was the first African American to serve as attorney general of New Jersey, a job he was appointed to in 2003 by the state’s governor.
Harvey, who went to Columbia Law School, spoke to students about working as a lawyer for some of the biggest names in the music business.
Teachers at EWAA said that their students are attracted to the lifestyles portrayed in rap music videos, or to the multi-million dollar deals given to football and basketball players. Recounting personal experiences in both entertainment and sports, Harvey explained that many of these individuals end up in bankruptcy after not being able to manage their money, and have nothing to fall back on when they are out of the business.
"You have to read, you have to think, you have to be the best you can be, but you have to do all that now," Harvey said to the students. "Because after a certain point, you’ll run out of time. After a certain point, you’ll be unemployable."
Harvey also encouraged students to pursue their dreams – no matter what anyone says. One student Wednesday that asked Harvey about what it takes to break into the music business as a producer was laughed at by his friends, but Harvey brushed them off and worked his way into the audience.
Speaking face to face with the student that asked the question, Harvey said, "There were people who laughed at me, too, when I said that I wanted to be a lawyer, until I got into Columbia Law School.”
He continued, “And there were people who still laughed, until I became a federal prosecutor. And there were people who underestimated me, until I told them I was an attorney general. Never let anyone hold you down and tell you what you can be."
