areemah Jackson knows what it’s like to be bullied.
“I’ve always been a tall, thick girl, since I was a little girl. So, people always thought of me as being a bully, but I have always been a gentle giant, like my father. He was 6-foot 8-inches and he was very gentle,” said Kareemah, a 14-year-old freshman. “Bullying is a serious topic and it has a cycle. Children learn to be bullies from teenagers and teenagers learn to be bullies from adults. We have to stand up and break the cycle.”
Kareemah, who has faced and stood up to both peer and adult bullies, created the slogan and designed the blue “STAND UP 4 WHAT’S RIGHT” T-shirts worn Monday by all of the participants at an anti-bullying forum with parents and students at Buchtel high school. Kareemah started an anti-bullying campaign when in sixth grade at Crouse school.
The forum — sponsored by the Akron Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Akron Public Schools and the city of Akron — included about 40 parents and nearly 100 student ambassadors from the school district’s middle schools. It was the local extension of a national partnership with Delta’s Grand Chapter and the National Institute of Health, known as the Mental Health Across the Lifespan initiative.
“As adults, we sometimes think we have all the answers, but we need to listen to the voices of our kids to understand what they are living and walking everyday,” said Merle Bennett Buzzelli, a counselor at Buchtel. “I don’t believe there could be anything more impactful than listening to kids share their stories.”
Bennett Buzzelli charged the student ambassadors with going back to their schools to spread a message of caring, kindness, inclusiveness and fairness in an effort to create an anti-bullying climate. She recruited three Buchtel high school students to share their experiences.
Ja’Sean Smith, a junior, shared how he is picked on every day because he doesn’t like sports, likes to cook and is more comfortable around girls than boys. Dealing with the name-calling was particularly hard for him as he navigated through his grief after his grandmother’s death, he said.
“I pretty much stay in my own lane. I don’t bother anybody. But because I don’t necessarily fit into a category that some people think I should, people resort to name-calling,” said Ja’Sean, 16. “Not only is it hurtful to hear the words coming from the bully, but it is hurtful to see bystanders laughing or just watching. Somebody’s got to stand up and say it’s not right.”
Ja’Sean’s schoolmates, Tesha Strobelt-McCann and Marnetta Singleton, agreed. The two girls shared their stories of being told that “something is wrong with you” and being called “weird” and “ugly.”
“I don’t think people realize how powerful words are. Words are important. Don’t speak words that you don’t mean,” Tesha, a 17-year-old senior, told the audience gathered in the Buchtel auditorium.
Both Tesha and Marnetta, a junior, shared how the things people said about them caused them to doubt their self-worth. Fortunately, they were both able to build their self-esteem, with the help of family, friends and God.
“Something within me said, ‘You’re worth more than that. Don’t let a situation [do you in], let it make you stronger,’” said Marnetta, 17. “People can talk all they want, but you can’t let what they say control who and what you are.”
DeKayla Bell, a senior, summed up what her classmates said and shared some advice with the seventh- and eighth-graders in the audience.
“Nobody deserves to be treated that way. Everybody is unique and should be respected for who they are,” said DeKayla, 17. “You shouldn’t call people gay or weird because they’re smart and if a boy really likes you, he won’t ask you to send [nude or half-nude] pictures. And when you stand by and laugh or don’t speak up, it’s the same thing as bullying.”
Bennett Buzzelli and Joan Evans, who chairs the educational development committee for the Delta alumnae chapter in Akron, said the goals of the program were to create a forum for safe and open dialogue, to create an action strategy to address bullying and to provide anti-bullying resources to all Akron middle schools.
“I hope something was said today that will cause students to evaluate what they say to other people and that will give them the strength to stand up and speak out when they see someone being mistreated,” Kareemah said. “Everyone is unique and nobody deserves to be disrespected, embarrassed and harassed. It’s never wrong to stand up for what’s right.”
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com. She can be followed at www.twitter.com/ColetteMJenkins.