"No Place for Hate"

This past Monday, I was the keynote speaker at the Recognition Ceremony for students involved in ADL's No Place for Hate program.  It was very inspiring, being a part of this special day.  I had mentioned, on The Birthmark Project's Facebook page, that I was working on my speech, but didn't really give a lot of details about this program.  So, here is some more info..

This year students and teachers from 26 schools-all around NYC, and one on Long Island, took part in this program.   Through special projects over the course of the school year, the students learn more about diversity, being an ally (esp when they see a classmate being bullied), bias and prejudice.  They acquire skills they'll be able to take with them the rest of their lives.  One of the teachers from the program, Julie Mann (who won the Educator Award at the ceremony-Go Julie!), posted a link to the project her students worked on this year, on The B Proj's Facebook page.  Please check it out!

It was an amazing experience, being a part of the ceremony on Monday.  First of all, the students themselves are incredibly inspiring.  I don't even know all the details of the many projects they worked on over the past year, but I could tell from their energy that day that these are great kids!  Some of them have commented on The B Proj's Facebook page.

What made the experience so rewarding was sharing my story with students from grades K-12, and hopefully being able to inspire, empower and motivate them.  For me, this is what I want to do with my life--inspire, empower and motivate others, and reach out.  I'm not sure on what scale I'll be able to do this, but that's the main reason I share my story.  I've shared my story through performance in the past, and have worked in the helping professions (on and off) for several years.  I want to continue to include performing in my future, AND I'm looking forward to speaking more (which many people feel has a performing component to it).

This experience was unlike any I've had before.  I didn't know if the students would be interested in  what I had to say, or if they would start to yawn and "rest" their eyes for the 7-10 minutes of my speech. To be honest, for a very few quick seconds during my speech, I found myself wondering if I was boring them.  But, as soon as the thought appeared, it was gone.  My focus was on the students, afterall, and allowing these thoughts--clearly from my inner critic (who could be my inner bully when she really gets mean) to distract me from this would have been letting them down.

(As I write this, I realize some of the students from that day might be reading this post.  If so, hello and welcome.  Thank you for visiting this blog:). And, yes, I am being quite honest in the above paragraph.  One of the reasons I want to include these thoughts from my inner critic/bully is because, from my experience, most people have their own inner critic.  Perhaps you can relate.)


Everyone involved in the ceremony had a warmth to them and a genuine commitment to civil rights for all.  Who says New Yorkers are cynical and rude?  (Certainly not me.)  I'm very grateful to have learned about No Place to Hate, and hope to continue to work with them.

Some other highlights of that day:  The P.S 22 Chorus (of course)!  You may have seen them on Oprah or The Academy Awards.  I love that they're encouraged to express themselves through the song, and not just stand there and barely move (as is often the case in other choirs).  

This is where I end (for now).  More to come on this day.

Please share in your comments any organizations you're involved in that help to lessen the amount of hate in this world.  Thanks!

-Jennifer