It wasn’t very long ago that Sedgwick Easley walked the halls of Mathews High School as a student.

Now a doctor of divinity and pastor and leader of Union Baptist Church in Hempstead, New York, Dr. Easley returned to his alma mater on Friday afternoon to deliver the address at the school’s Black History Month Assembly, offering students a glimpse into the county’s recent past, in terms of race relations, as well as hope for a better tomorrow.

A 1994 Mathews High graduate, Easley was welcomed to the podium by the school’s assistant principal Alexis Foster. On Tuesday, Foster was promoted to the post of interim principal (see story below).

‘A proud moment’

“This is a proud moment for me,” Foster said, calling Easley “a native son, my cousin, my adopted big brother, but truly a mentor … once he speaks to you, you will never be the same.”

Although a Baptist preacher for more than two decades, Easley began his talk with...