Video: Oak Ridge Paints Over Pain
The community in Oak Ridge, TN, recently came together to use art to speak up against bullying. The activity, called Paint Over Pain, brought in community members ranging from young children to recent high school graduates to paint powerful messages of hope in the face of bullying. The video features many art pieces created during the activity as well as messages such as, “Be yourself,” “Silence is acceptance” and “You are not alone.”
Valerie Hughes launched Not In Our Town in Oak Ridge after her daughter was assaulted in a classroom. Her efforts with Not In Our Town promote a safe and welcoming community for people of all backgrounds. Hughes coordinated this event in Oak Ridge, will be leading a Paint Over Pain activity at the Not In Our Town National Leadership Gathering later this month.
Watch the entire video here.
Stereotypes
Addressing & Eliminating Labels
“Do not define me by my clothes or the color of my skin”.
These are the words that begin a powerful video titled, Labels. The video, created by Maneetpaul Singh, is a creative project featuring people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds, wearing a stereotype or label written on a piece of tape, covering their mouths. The video featured labels like “know it all,” “shy,” “prep,” and “terrorist,” among others.
The opening and closing lines are from the poem that inspired Singh to embark on this project, written by Singh’s friend Bani Ahuja. The video ends with a woman, burning a piece of tape with the words “insert label here,” and the final words of the poem are narrated:
So take this label that I wear,
Let it burn into the air,
I am not the words that you assign,
There’s so much more that meets the eye.
Watch Maneetpaul Singh's video here.
The NSLC group is composed of high school students. International students from American University's Discover the World of Communications summer program also participated in the activities. Photo.
This summer, NIOS presented at UC Berkeley to high school students from the National Student Leadership Conference and American University’s Discover the World of Communications summer programs. Students from around the U.S. and as far away as Dubai, Syria, Australia, Korea and China shared their insights and learned more about the bullying prevention work of Not in Our School.
This week in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, we are highlighting three stories of youth standing up to intolerance and violence.
Spread the Peace (Mother Caroline Academy)
Ariana's brother was killed in a drive-by shooting. Most of her classmates at Mother Caroline Academy in Dorchester, Massachusetts have been affected by violence. After watching "Not In Our Town" in a Facing History class, Ariana and her peers launch their own neighborhood “Spread the Peace” campaign to help stop the violence. (11 min 13 sec)
Students Teach Students to Stand Up to Bullying
At Shaw High School in East Cleveland, OH, students in Lori Urogody-Eiler's Facing History and Ourselves class mentor younger students in how to be an upstander, not a bystander, when faced with bullying and intolerant acts. (5 min 47 sec)
