A couple days back, I posted the portrait of a young man who described an influential principal in his life by the name of Ms. Lopez. Yesterday I was fortunate to meet Ms. Lopez at her school, Mott Hall Bridges Academy.
“This is a neighborhood that doesn’t necessarily expect much from our children, so at Mott Hall Bridges Academy we set our expectations very high. We don’t call the children ‘students,’ we call them ‘scholars.’ Our color is purple. Our scholars wear purple and so do our staff. Because purple is the color of royalty. I want my scholars to know that even if they live in a housing project, they are part of a royal lineage going back to great African kings and queens. They belong to a group of individuals who invented astronomy and math. And they belong to a group of individuals who have endured so much history and still overcome. When you tell people you’re from Brownsville, their face cringes up. But there are children here that need to know that they are expected to succeed.” humansofnewyork: "Who’s influenced you the most in your life?" “My principal, Ms. Lopez.” “How has she influenced you?” “When we get in trouble, she doesn’t suspend us. She calls us to her office and explains to us how society was built down around us. And she tells us that each time somebody fails out of school, a new jail cell gets built. And one time she made every student stand up, one at a time, and she told each one of us that we matter.” 10 years after 2004 Asian tsunami, the vibrations can still be felt http://t.co/tqpeHKBQ72 (Tim Hetherington—Magnum) http://t.co/vOpu6FmaMN
I’ll tell you what’s wrong with this picture: assumption.
This picture has gone viral as thousands of people deliver searing indictments of both smartphones and teens. I’ve met a couple of teens. I’ve had a couple smartphones. Could these teens be playing Angry Birds or texting stupid jokes to each other? Yeah, they could. But they could also be googling provenance for that painting or taking a second to text a friend about how amazing the museum is or completing an assignment given off-screen by someone standing just beside the photographer. They could be taking notes about the palette choice so that later they turn into a generation of artists that take your breath away. What’s wrong with this picture? Nothing, until proven otherwise. Welcome to 2014. ayeshakhurram:
I am speechless. I am speechless that two hours away from where I live, over a hundred and forty children have died. I am speechless. My brothers, my sisters. They aren’t with us anymore, and I am speechless. I can’t tell you how much I’ve cried today, I can’t tell you how depressed, disgusted, sad, horrified and shocked I am at this act of terrorism in the name of ‘God’. It’s numbing to even try and think about what the mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters feel like right now - I can’t even imagine what it’s like, to send your child to school asking him to do his very best on his mid year, telling him you believe in him, telling him not to leave a single question empty. He left the world instead. Please don’t think we aren’t important because we aren’t from the well known Western countries. Please don’t let the lives lost be defined by race, language, nation. Please don’t think we deserve this because our oppressors and us, we share a religion - because if these terrorists are ‘muslims’, then I am not. (And believe me when I tell you they’re not. They don’t know anything about Islam, because if they did they would hesitate to use harsh words, let alone guns.) It takes two seconds to make a prayer. It takes two seconds to spread the word. It takes two seconds to make someone see that the oppressed and oppressors are different, even if they share a religon. I hope you will remember that little, innocent children and teachers did not ask for this. I hope you will remember that a teacher got burned alive trying to save the students. I hope you will remember that raising your voice against evil is the first step to eliminate it from our society. |
EVERYDAY HEROESThere are definitely random good acts out there that weren't given any attention or credit because media mostly focus on the bad news rather than focusing on something that gives us hope to restore our faith in humanity. Archives
June 2017
Remember NOT the pain,anger or hatred.But remember how everyone came out to help,encourage and uplift.Remember how strong and united the world that day praying for help and mourn for the dead out of love.
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