MORRISTOWN: Praised for their commitment to improving the lives of their fellow African Americans, several community leaders were honored for their inspiration and achievement during the Morris County prosecutor's second annual Black History Month celebration.

Some 200 people attended the two-hour event sponsored by the prosecutor's office and the National Organization for Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) at the Morris County Administration and Records Building in Morristown.

Keynote speaker, Special Agent in Charge for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Matthew W. Horace, told listeners to be inspired not only by civil rights icons, but by their every day contemporaries who "stand for something."

"As much as we are all different, we are very much the same. To the right and to the left of us there is a person who shares a common denominator. If we look hard enough or talk long enough, there is always something that binds us and connects us all," Horace said.

Senior Deputy New Jersey Attorney General Hester Agudosi and Jiles Ship, president of the northern New Jersey chapter of the National Organization for Black Law Enforcement Executives, William Primus, chief executive officer of the Morris County Urban League, and Della Crews, a news anchor for News 12 NJ thanked the prosecutor and Detective Keisha Higgs with the Morris County Prosecutor's Office for organizing the event.

"It is an extreme honor for NOBLE to be recognized by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office for achievement in a variety of communities," Ship said.

The effort to recognize leaders in the community makes good sense. "This is about building relationships," Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi said. "We reach out to all ethnic groups and give credit where credit is due and recognize the great accomplishments of Americans such as those being honored tonight."

Since taking office in June 2007, one of the prosecutor's top priorities has been to improve relationships with communities and their leaders. The driving force is the prosecutor's First Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Zelante, Chief William Schievella and the office's community affairs unit , the first such unit in the history of the prosecutor's office.

Initiatives to reach the roots of the various enclaves is paying off. "We have started to build relationships with the people who are the leaders of their communities. We are everywhere, whether it's a briefing on the high holy days for the Jewish community or going to a soup kitchen or going to the African American community during Christmas time and wrapping gifts, or going into the Hispanic community or the Asian community to talk about issues relevant to their neighborhoods.

"Whether it is to talk about guns, gangs and drugs, or internet safety, we have been out there pounding the street so that we could give something to the community and the community could give something to us.

That has led to help from the communities. Tips from the community sparked three successful operations "and the seizure of more guns, drugs and assault firearms from the streets of Morris County than in the last five to 10 years combined," Bianchi said, calling the people who help police tackle crime "the eyes and ears of the communities."

He said Italians have suffered intolerance, negative stereotypes and inaccurate portrayals and "whether it's Italian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, or any other American, it makes no difference. Prejudice in any form is unacceptable."