Valerie Hughes and a participant. Photos by Pam Allen-Ellis
Valerie Hughes stood in Bissell Park in Oak Ridge, TN watching an 8-year-old paint scars onto the faces, necks and hands of anyone who would sit still long enough. “This is what bullying looks like,” he told his human canvass.
Valerie and her local Not In Our Town group managed to pull the young and old of Oak Ridge into a community event called Paint Over Pain on Oct. 25 to celebrate that “we are all ‘flawesome.’”
Blog
December 3, 2013 - 2:17pm
For weeks you notice that your child has been more withdrawn than usual. He or she barely sees friends anymore outside of school, and also seems to be “feeling sick” much more frequently, just to get out of going to class. After incessant probing, your child finally admits to you that a group of the “popular” students has been taunting him or her. It started with name-calling about some arbitrary trait, but then other students joined in and the teasing intensified. Kids even started spitting on him or her. Your child’s only allies have decided it was safer to stop being friends, leaving your baby to stand alone against this blatant bullying.
December 2, 2013 - 5:16pm
Rabbi James Cohn, left, at the premiere of Not In Our Town, Light In The Darkness in Charleston
Rabbi James Cohn began his work to stop bias and hate in 1996 when he helped organize faith leaders in Greenville, SC against an anti-gay resolution passed by the town council. In his role as rabbi of Temple Israel in Charleston, WV, Rabbi Cohn continues his work to build inclusion and safe communities through education, community development and committee work. He also serves on the steering committee of OneKanawha, a group in the Not In Our Town network that focuses on creating an inclusive community and working towards social justice in Charleston.
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November 26, 2013 - 11:22am
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong” —Mahatma Ghandi
We’ve all been hurt at some point in our lives, either emotionally or physically, and we’ve all heard the line, “You need to forgive.” Many people would agree forgiveness is easier said than done but the truth behind this line still remains. Not forgiving someone hurts you more than anyone else. This proves to be particularly true for an extraordinary young woman, Kiki Vo. Take a moment to listen as she shares with us the trials and hardships she has faced and inspires us with her own story of forgiveness.
Stream this video in your classroom and use with the accompanying lesson plan. Video also available via TeacherTube.
November 25, 2013 - 4:22pm
After weeks of racially-motivated abuse against an African-American freshman at San Jose State University finally came to light, university president Mohammad Qayoumi sent out a plainly worded email to the faculty, staff, and students taking responsibility and laying out a specific plan for change.
"Dear Spartans,
When I expressed outrage last Thursday at the race-based abuse and mistreatment of an African-American SJSU freshman by several suite mates, I did not clearly express our accountability for what he endured.