Students rally in Oakland to help end social isolation
Javonte Francis used to judge people by what they wore.
If students approached his group in elementary school wearing clothes from Target or Walmart, they could be shut out, he said.
Javonte, now a 15-year-old sophomore at Oakland Technical High School, realizes what he did was wrong. He advocates for students to be more inclusive and embrace their differences, rather than be divided by them. On Sunday, Javonte, along with more than 100 other people, marched along Lake Merritt to speak up and help students who are socially isolated in schools. If the issue isn’t addressed, they believe that isolation could lead to suicide, depression and possibly violence.
The students marched along Lake Merritt on Sunday morning, chanting “Success. Embrace. Create the same space.” Some carried signs that embraced how they are different, such as one made by a student that pointed out his own dyslexia.
“Being here today, this makes me feel good because I’m helping people who feel different — who feel like they have no place in society sometimes,” said Javonte, a teen board member with nonprofit Beyond Differences, which organized the event at Lake Merritt. “I feel like this will actually help them break through and be themselves,” he said.
After the participants did about a mile’s walk by the lake, they were encouraged to mingle with people they didn’t know. Then the nonprofit’s student leaders program commenced with several speakers, including Lateefah Simon of the BART board of directors.
The event comes as a wave of students are voicing their thoughts and proposing solutions in light of last month’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 people. Several participants at the Lake Merritt event Sunday said they believe social isolation could have played a role in the shooting. Social isolation can occur if a student is shunned by others and left to hang out by themselves, or it could be a student’s emotional perception where the student may have friends but feels like they can’t be themselves.
“It really impacts you, being alone,” Javonte said. “You see everyone hanging out with friends and going to places and you are never invited to those places. If you think about it, you start getting thoughts like, ‘If I don’t matter, why should any of their lives matter?’ so it could lead to very violent thoughts.”
Beyond Differences was founded in 2010 by Laura Talmus and Ace Smith, in memory of their daughter, Lili. Lili had a genetic disorder that affected her appearance, and when she entered middle school, she chose to be homeschooled because she felt like she was treated differently. After she died, her friends asked what they could do to honor her memory.
Beyond Differences brings together student leaders to push back against social isolation and has teen board members in Portland, Ore., Marin County and Oakland. The nonprofit works with schools to roll out activities such as an annual event where students are encouraged to eat lunch with others outside of their friend groups.
Caheri Gutierrez, with the city of Oakland’s Oakland Promise program, told the students about how she was shot in the face when she was 18. During her recovery, some people didn’t want to associate with her due to her appearance, and if it weren’t for her family and her therapist supporting her, Gutierrez says she “would have stayed in a dark place.”
She applauded programs like Beyond Differences for building communities of young people who can support each other.
“Programs like these are so important,” Gutierrez said.