In early February the Memphis, TN City Council voted to rename three parks whose names are associated with the Confederacy and the Ku Klux Klan.
Renaming the parks would be a victory for racial equality nationwide, say local activists. Memphis resident Kennith Van Buren told The Huffington Post. “How can we have unity in the nation when we have one city, right here in Memphis, which fails to be unified?”
Blog
February 20, 2013 - 3:48pm
In the spirit of Not In Our School, a New Jersey elementary school shares this creative way to address bullying through music. Students stage a concert that involves the whole community.
Soloists singing
Taylor Swift’s “Mean.”
More than 100 fourth grade students at Loring Flemming Elementary School in Blackwood/Gloucester Township, NJ presented a concert revue to educate audiences about bullying, respect, and self-acceptance.
February 15, 2013 - 4:51pm
Watchung, NJ High School’s White Out
The students of Watchung Hills Regional High School in Watchung, NJ will host a “White Out Against Bullying” event on March 8. The students have had white shirts printed with the slogan “Not In Our Schools,” which can be purchased on the school website. They also encouraged the Watchung Borough Council to participate and wear white in solidarity with their school’s anti-bullying efforts. The White Out is part of a weeklong initiative to promote anti-bullying, diversity and other issues.
We are excited to hear about the ongoing initiatives in Watchung to end bullying in their community. Watchung students and their teachers, Mary Sok and Jamie Lott-Jones, were previously featured in our video, “Students Take on Cyberbullying.”
February 13, 2013 - 11:17am
Not In Our School shares stories of youth working to make the world a better place. We’re happy to share this opportunity to give voice to inspiring and daring young people by nominating them for the Peace First Prize.
By Eric D. Dawson
If you listen to the media, youth today are apathetic, technology addicts and just plain lazy. With the constant negative spotlight on our young people, it is sad, but not surprising to learn that according to a major analysis by the Berkeley Media Studies Group, less than 1% of news stories about young people are positive. Yet every day, I am privileged to hear stories defying that false expectation; stories of young peacemakers making positive and lasting change in their schools and communities.
February 4, 2013 - 12:36pm
Hate Crimes Charges for Woman Who Abused Mentally Disabled VictimsFor the first time, federal hate crimes charges have been filed in defense of the disabled after a Philadelphia woman was indicted for kidnapping four adults and keeping them in “subhuman” conditions, according to The Grio.
Linda Weston, 52, and several accomplices allegedly duped severely mentally disabled people into having her declared as their caretaker. Weston then kept one woman and three men, who ranged from 29- to 44-years-old, chained up in her basement with little food. Weston pocketed $212,000 over a decade from similar schemes.