NIAGARA COUNTY: Organizations, schools take Stand Against Racism

By Joe Olenick<br><a href="mailto:joe.olenick@lockportjournal.com">E-mail Joe</a>

Communities and residents all across Niagara County are standing up to racism and hate.

On Friday, individuals and organizations joined forces with the YWCA of Niagara to take a Stand Against Racism. The Stand Against Racism program is a YWCA initiative aimed at eliminating racism by raising awareness that it still exists. The stand encourages people to be tolerant of those who are different and to realize that racism can no longer be ignored or tolerated. Participants met at a number of sites to discuss racism and how to overcome it, as well as recite a pledge to take a stand against racism.

Locally, some of the participants included the City of Lockport, the United Way and fifth-graders in the school districts of Lockport and Newfane.

“We’re overwhelmed,” said Mary Brennan-Taylor of the YWCA of Niagara of the turnout. “We’ve had people all over the county, from Lockport to Newfane to Niagara Falls, participating. Community leaders, businesses, schools. We’re very pleased and we hope the participation will expand next year.”

Fifth-graders in Cristina Finnerty’s class at Charles Upson Elementary School read a story about a kid who moved from the South to the North during the 1960s. The boy was hoping there would be more equality in the North, and the house he moved into was a station on the Underground Railroad. The kids then wrote an essay describing what racism is and how it can be fought. Victoria Haak said her family’s heritage comes from five different cultures.

“People should understand people’s differences,” Haak said. “You can also learn about other cultures. Racism is when people don’t understand people’s race, customs or beliefs.”

Jared DiNicolantonio agreed with Haak, saying if people learn about the different backgrounds of people, that would eliminate hate. DiNicolantonio said people should be receptive to everyone and defend those who are mistreated.

“You should be friends with all cultures, not just one or two,” he said. “Don’t promote racism, stop it.”

Brady Matuszewski, Tyler McKeown and Taylor Laskey, members of the fifth-grade student council at John Pound Elementary, walked around to the classrooms helping kids recite the pledge against racism and hate.

“We talked to them about it,” McKeown said. “We each took a job with the classes, coming up with an introduction about what to say to them. We explained racism and what the pledge was about.”

“We also had a poster,” Laskey added. “The whole school said the pledge during the morning announcements.”

Principal Roberta Donovan said the kids also learned that sometimes things a person may say can hurt others, even if the person didn’t intend to.

“We’re very multi-cultural, so we need to relate to others,” she said. “Sometimes we can say hurtful things without even knowing it.”

Kids at Newfane Elementary School gathered in the gym for the morning announcements Friday. Principal Kathleen Nagle said the students were joined by Bernadette Schultz and Jennifer Stoll, representatives of the YWCA. The kids listened to “The Story of Ruby Bridges,” a story about a black kindergartner attending a just-integrated school in New Orleans. First-grader Allison Siegmann helped Nagle demonstrate how lonely and scary an experience it was for Ruby to walk into school alone each day.

“The kids were quiet as she walked around; it helped them understand what it could have been like for Ruby,” Nagle said.

At the conclusion of the story, both students and their teachers took the pledge: “I pledge to treat everyone with kindness and respect. And by showing friendship everywhere, I will help make the world a better place.” The assembly ended with the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the national anthem.

“It went very well,” Nagle said. “It can be a challenge for kids this age to understand a serious and difficult topic like this. But they responded positively.”

Contact reporter Joe Olenick at 439-9222, ext. 6241.

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