Judge Joseph D. Johnson, of the Third Judicial District Court, knows first hand of the “misplaced priorities” he said should be of concern to the nation. He sees them daily in the courtroom.

As the keynote speaker for the Lawrence-Douglas County NAACP Branch Freedom Fund Banquet on Saturday night, which focused on youths, he shared some statistics about young black men, including unemployment rates of those in their 20s.

“The protection and nourishment of our young people requires all of us, regardless of race, sex and age, or we are all going to suffer,” he said to a room of 100 youths and adults at the chapter’s major annual fundraiser.

The Freedom Fund Banquet benefits the Lawrence-Douglas County NAACP scholarship fund and branch operations. Several awards were presented for people who have made a difference in the community.

With the theme of the banquet, “Power Beyond Measure,” Johnson told the youths that with education and determination their abilities are limitless.

One of the young men in the audience, Jeremy Bell, 18, exemplified the night’s theme.

Bell won the Minority Business Excellence Award for his entrepreneurship. As a Lawrence High School student, he began making customized furniture and has his own business, Bell Woodworking.

“I knew when I graduated, I had a market, a list of people, to help me make money for college,” he said.

His skills as a woodsmith and businessman were evident at a young age. At 12, he dusted off his father’s tools in his parents’ basement and went to work. In high school, he made projects for a class and then sold them. Two weeks after graduating high school, he was offered a job with a local woodworker specialist, which gave him money to buy his own tools.

Bell said he knows he can be an example to younger people too, so he mentors youths in the NAACP’s Youth Council. He said he tries to tell them if there’s something they are good at, and like, to pursue it and be focused on going to college.

“You can’t just be persuaded with everything out there,” he said. “They get caught up with drinking, smoking, the parties, and you try to give them a balance but they always get caught up in too much of it.”

The Youth Council, led by Reta Cosby, encourages junior high school and high school students to be engaged in the community and develop their talents.

“I’ve worked with youth for year in different capacities and that’s my passion, but the NAACP Youth Council has been a different experience for me because I’m working with youth in all avenues of talents,” she said. “It’s been quite an experience.”