YOUNGSTOWN — People who enjoyed tasting a creative, colorful arrangement of homemade and donated salads also digested the value of three additional ingredients: courage, fortitude and a deeper belief in oneself.

“We must help our young people use their minds,” said William “Guy” Burney, the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence organization’s coordinator.

That was a core message Burney delivered as guest speaker for the annual Feast of Salads gathering Saturday afternoon in the Wick Park pavilion on the North Side. The three-hour event also was to celebrate Black History Month.

Between 50 to 60 people enjoyed 25 salads that were brought for the occasion. Besides a large tossed salad, the dishes included potato, linguini, turkey and ham, shell-mixed pasta, broccoli, tuna, deviled-egg, cornbread, mixed-vegetable, bowtie-pasta and black-eyed pea varieties — the latter of which is a traditional southern salad, noted Annie Hall, president of the East Side Crime Watch organization and an event organizer.

The gathering has taken place for at least 20 years, said Hall, who’s also a community leader and activist.

In his presentation, Burney recalled that in late 1978, he saw the popular Sidney Lumet fantasy / adventure film “The Wiz,” a reimagining of “The Wizard of Oz,” starring singer Diana Ross as Dorothy — a production he referred to as “a marriage between Hollywood and Motown.” Burney also used the other three main characters’ perceived shortcomings as symbols for certain beliefs and perceptions he feels are largely responsible for holding the community back.

The scarecrow misperceived that he had no brain, the tin man complained about needing a heart and the lion claimed to lack courage. Nevertheless, all three eventually learn that the traits they spent so much time trying to acquire were the ones they had all along, he noted.

“My question is, ‘Who told (the scarecrow) he didn’t have a brain?’ We must help our young people use their minds,” Burney said. “We have lots of opportunities in the city, but people’s minds must be free.”

He also used the tin man’s discovery that he had a heart as a metaphor to demonstrate that people’s individual and collective attitudes and beliefs can go a long way toward moving a community forward.

“The opposite of fear is not courage; the opposite of fear is love. Our value of the community is inside of us,” Burney continued.

The community leader said the lion’s courage can be used as a template to demonstrate to many in the Mahoning Valley that they have what it takes to face challenges ahead and help collectively get closer to reaching the area’s rich potential.

“We already have what we need to be successful. We just have to realize it,” Burney said, adding that people can disagree with one another while maintaining civility.

After his presentation, Burney asked Hall to be recognized for her contributions to the community, which resulted in a standing ovation for her.

Adding a further touch of inspiration for attendees was Carla D. Gipson, executive assistant for CIRV. Gipson provided her rendition of “I Know Where I’ve Been,” a gospel, R&B-style song from the musical “Hairspray,” which is based on the 1988 John Waters film of the same name.

In addition, the Feast of Salads gathering offered pamphlets detailing services that the Mahoning County Veterans Service Commission provides. The event also featured a Chinese auction.

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