Being the Change: An Inner City School Builds Peace
| Autor: | Marnie W. Curry |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2013 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Phi Delta Kappan. 95:23-27 |
| ISSN: | 1940-6487 0031-7217 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/003172171309500406 |
| Popis: | [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A school and community reach deep to heal and halt violence. In 2012, gun violence took the lives of three youth affiliated with Mario Molina High * (MHS), a small public high school serving 260 mostly low-income Latino youth in a large urban district in Northern California. Reeling from the violence and the sting of societal stereotypes that often demonize urban youth and associate them with criminality and deviance, students and staff joined together to reflect and act. Ultimately, they galvanized an ongoing peace-building movement that has flourished, transforming not only students' lives, but the communities surrounding the school as well. The seeds of this movement were planted in the fall when the entire student body gathered for the Interrupting Violence Town Hall. Seated with their mixed-grade advisory groups and faculty advisers, students gazed upon a series of panels displaying photos of a young man--posing with a girlfriend, sporting a cap and gown at graduation, and hanging out in his barrio. Alongside these images, a poster read, "Rest in Peace ~ 1992-2011." Other decorations included students' "Root Causes of Violence" tree posters in which terms such as "poverty," "racism," "economic inequity," and "media" appeared on tree roots while branches bore fruit labeled "homicide," "gangs," "drugs," and "crime." Colorful Mexican serapes, glowing santos or religious candles, ofrenda or memory boxes, as well as written notes of tribute adorned several altars on the stage. Cesar, a veteran educator at the high school, opened the assembly by telling students that the event was not just a memorial for an alumnus shot and killed a week earlier, but it was also a conscious protest of a society in which the murders of children of color receive virtually no media coverage or public outcry. He said the gathering was a call for those present to interrupt the pernicious cycle of violence and create safe neighborhoods. The event included an array of speakers, including a mayor's office representative, a city councilman, the principal, a community organizer, the parents of a previously murdered student, several youth development coaches, and students. The audience also heard a Native American healing chant and a rap from Big Dan, a member of brwnbflo, who shared his story of being a former juvenile hall youth turned college graduate. He performed his original song, "Think About your Future, It Starts Today": We have to work for things and do more than pray. We got to come together and build a bridge. Let's do it for each other, especially the kids. Be the change that you want to see, You can be anything that you want to be ... When you got some time, help somebody else.... Be a leader, don't follow no nonsense.... It is never too late to make a positive change. (http://brwnbflo.bandcamp.com/track/12be-the-change) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As testimony to the power of this gathering, the entire student body and staff remained in the auditorium for an hour past the final bell. Newspaper coverage of this town hall, though, elicited a mean-spirited, online reader to comment that urban youth are "baby killers" merely reaping the rewards of their insanity. Angered by being labeled 'baby killers' and by the loss in January of yet another youth to gun violence (the kindergarten sibling of a current MHS junior), students launched their first Campaign for a Peaceful City--a 74-day crusade in which over 200 people participated in a "fast relay," where students and adults took turns fasting in consecutive 24-hour shifts and then reflected and blogged on their experiences to draw attention to peace. Students also promoted a Peace Pledge in which they committed to: * Not bring drama or discrimination into their community; * Find the beauty in and empathize with everyone; * Raise awareness about violence and give voice to crime victims; * Defend those who cannot defend themselves; and * Build up their beloved community to encourage lasting peace. … |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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