Students march against violence
Zay Branch said there was a time in her life when she was bullied.
“I was affected at a young age,” she said. “I was so outgoing. And because of that, people made fun of me. I had to change myself. I changed myself a whole lot.
Branch, a 10th grader at Watson Chapel High School, was among some 200 classmates who voluntarily gathered on Monday to say no to violence and to bullying.
The event was organized by Patricia Oates, an oral communications and language arts teacher at the high school, and supported by several members of the clergy.
Many of the students carried signs, and chanted “stop the violence” as they paraded around the track as a show of unity and support.
“They know what it’s all about,” Oates said. “They want a voice. They want a say. They know what’s plaguing their community. They have to be empowered to do this. We can’t fight their fights for them.”
State Rep. Vivian Flowers (D-Pine Bluff) attended the event and said it was a way for the young to “operationalize their voices” and get involved in standing up against the violence going on in the city.
“It makes my heart smile,” said Flowers, who is serving her fourth term in the state legislature. “We have to listen to them. They are closer to the danger than we are, the school shootings and other violence. And there’s so little for them to do.
They are the most vulnerable. They have the most to gain and the most to lose.”
Rev. Jesse Turner, one of a handful of ministers present, praised the students for coming together.
“We want to emphasize your voices,” he said. “‘We are trying to lift you up because you are the leaders.”
After most of the students had finished their march and were headed back to class, Oates said that some students
grow up in violent households, and because of that, they perpetuate violence. She said she steps in when she needs to at school but prefers to let students find their own paths forward.
“I’m a bully buster,” she said. “But I want them to self-correct. The change has to come from within. It takes bravery when the only defense they have is to be mean.”
Oates said October was anti-bullying and anti-violence month and that the march was a final reminder of what the month stood for.
“For students, this was a voluntary act,” Oates said. “They didn’t have to come here today. Some of them have lost loved ones to violence. Their emotions run really deep.”
As for 10-grader Branch, she said life was easier today than it was when she was younger and being bullied.
“Things are better now,” she said.