Thank you, officers

TUESDAY evening: two cities, two different scenes.

In Baltimore, my Daily News colleagues watched the town's fragile peace fray as vandals once again brought fear to the "sad, tired, grieving, wrung-out" city, to quote a heartbroken friend who has lived there for decades.

One hundred miles north, in Philly, I witnessed something more hopeful. Four community-relations police officers received awards from the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at its annual ceremony to honor civil-rights champions and human-relations heroes. The officers - Juan Delgado, Gary Harkins, Nokisha Jacobs and Tina Willis - embody commitment to the neighborhoods they serve and affection for the folks who live there.

They also defy every negative stereotype perpetrated these fractious days about those who wear the uniform. And the praise heaped upon by them by the citizens whom they protect and serve defy every negative stereotype we have about urban dwellers.

There are so many more good than bad people in both camps. It was a tonic - on a day when the world watched anger explode in Baltimore - to feel the love in Philly for both.

Delgado (known as "Ace" to adoring residents in the 3rd District) was praised for his can-do optimism and infectious energy. Harkins, also in the 3rd, was applauded for his service, integrity and honor. Jacobs, in the 15th, has changed lives with her sense of humor and the mantra, "Don't let a cause fall on deaf ears." And Willis' enthusiasm "forges bonds across cultures and generations" in the 24th.

They weren't the only awardees; 17 other individuals or organizations were given props for their efforts to bring peace, understanding and harmony to a city whose diverse communities sometimes need help to bridge their differences. I haven't room to name all the winners here, but it was terribly moving to see them gathered in one place - the Arts Ballroom, at 13th and Locust - to be cheered by 225 attendees.

I have just one complaint about an event in which the food, drink, music and program were otherwise perfect: It wasn't big enough. I wish more Philadelphians had been able to honor those who work so hard to help us rise above our fears or suspicions of those whose race, religion, sexual orientation, income or jobs are different from our own.

Not better or worse. Different.

Bill Golderer understood what I was talking about. He's pastor of Broad Street Ministry, whose mission to serve meals "with dignity and flavor" to the poor was recognized with awards for the church's chef, Steven Seibel, and its sous chef, T.C. Shillingford.

"There are people in this city who are big self-promoters when it comes to certain issues, but they don't actually do anything," he said. "The people here tonight are the workers. They put their heads down, roll up their sleeves and do the work. And when you tell them what a great job they've done, they're like,'Oh, that?' "

They're just so modest. They're changing the world but don't know it. Or, if they do, they're reluctant to take credit because they think anyone can do it.

Well, just because anyone can doesn't mean anyone will.

For Officers Delgado, Harkins, Jacobs and Willis, the will is in their DNA. They know, says Human Relations Commission executive director Rue Landau, that quality-of-life complaints are often most important:

The neighbor who plays music too loud, or who won't clean up after his dog, or whose kid is leaving trash on the sidewalk, or who's hogging parking spots. If not addressed early and diplomatically, these situations can escalate. Handled sensitively, they can abate before anyone gets hurt.

"It's very hard to quantify the absence of violence," said Landau, "but we know that the work we're doing - resolving conflict before it escalates, getting people to work together - has a positive impact every single day."

And one night a year, it sure is wonderful to set aside the modesty and claim it, loud and proud.

On Twitter: @RonniePhilly

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