Children hear message of racial unity at kid-friendly rally in Monroeville - TribLIVE

sulionjaka.blogspot.com

36 minutes ago

“Be nice.”

The simple phrase came out of the mouth of a young boy named Wyatt who showed up with his parents and friends Friday to a Black Lives Matter gathering in a field just outside Moss Side Middle School in Monroeville’s Gateway School District.

There, young children were given the opportunity to speak their minds. Some thoughts were somber.

Another boy, named Ty-Ty, said he was there to protest for racial equality. His father, Bruce Powell, held him in his arms.

Others were, well, child-like.

One girl proclaimed through a megaphone that she likes pie.

And Bre — she likes cats. Also, “be nice to my friends,” she said.

The event drew around 70 families who brought their children to the kid-friendly Black Lives Matter gathering, organized by Tamera Dixon.

The event comes after weeks of protesting around the world after suspect George Floyd was killed by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis. Floyd was black. Chauvin is white.

“I wanted to build some education on what’s going on,” Dixon, 36, of Monroeville said. “When history is written, I want them to be a part of it. If we don’t ask kids what they have to say, well, that’s as good as not including everyone. So this is including everyone. Inclusion.”

Some of the brightly decorated signs children held in the football field as their parents looked on from the bleachers read, “My life matters,” “Be kind,” “If you think your mask made it hard to breathe, imagine being black in America,” “Am I next?” and “At what age do I become a threat?”

When the children finished displaying their signs and telling the crowd what they liked (some of the funnier responses included pizza, Paw Patrol and Fortnite) they sat and listened.

Devantae Butler, 27, a Gateway graduate gave an impassioned speech that challenged children — and parents — to embrace humility and love.

“Parents: If my children don’t hear me say ‘I’m sorry,’ then they ain’t gonna say ‘I’m sorry,” he said.

Butler, founder of Reaching New Dreams & Recognizing Talents, shared how he came to believe in Jesus Christ as his savior — and how believing in Jesus has informed his perspective in the aftermath of Floyd’s death.

“If God made us first in his image before he made race, than the one thing that I know that we all have in common is that we’re all children of God,” he said.

In attendance to show support were Gateway teachers Chris Jordan, a kindergarten teacher; Janet Niethamer, a reading specialist; Jeff Siegwarth, a kindergarten teacher; Jennifer Hayes, a reading specialist and Joy Mattis, a sixth-grade teacher at Moss Side.

Jordan, who is white, said she was there “to listen. To let them know we hear them.”

Mattis said she really liked how empowering the event was for her students.

“I had one student show up today who’s typically really shy,” Mattis said. “He felt empowered, he lit up.”

Jeanna Emerick, of Penn Hills, brought her 9-year-old daughter. When asked what she hoped children remembered from the evening, she said: “Stay positive, stick together. And we’re gonna pray and pray for change — and we’re gonna get better. Better days are coming.”

Gateway School Director Susan Delaney also attended.

“These are our future leaders,” Delaney said. “And I’m glad to see that it’s not just black lives and individuals coming out, but all individuals coming together. It’s just like, enough is enough.”

Dillon Carr is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Dillon at 412-871-2325, dcarr@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Local | Monroeville Times Express | Allegheny