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THE PESA POST
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Parents, Educators/Teachers & Students in Action

April 16, 2021
COUNTY OF HEROES
The goal of PESA’s unique educational program is to ease intolerance
One of this country’s strongest attributes—that we are a nation of immigrants and a veritable melting pot of cultures and faiths—is also its Achilles heel. For all our tolerance, acceptance and celebration of differences, we are at times, sadly, rife with stereotyping, racism and bigotry. And there’s nothing like the uncertainty and misinformation of a deadly pandemic to stoke tensions.

That’s why PESA created its County of Heroes program that aims to raise awareness of the kinds of discrimination faced by young people of every stripe. By presenting hypothetical scenarios of bullying and stereotyping for open discussion, accompanied with a related art contest, our hope is to give kids the tools needed to avoid and avert such situations. 

Following are some excerpts from a recent County of Heroes virtual presentation along with student discussions and responses.
What could you do to help Sean?
RUTH: I would have been his friend and wouldn’t care about other’s opinions.
JACQUELINE: Speak up for him.
RODOLFO: Befriend him.
EVELYN: I would speak up and tell him that I’m here for him.
JAELYN: I could try to be friends with him.
DELILAH: Talk to him and tell him that it doesn’t matter what skin tone he is, he’s not at fault and try to be his friend.
SIRENA: I would accept him for who he is, and tell him not to listen to them.
What unjust experience does Stacy face?
JOSE: They think just because she's Asian she has the virus, which is mean and racist for assuming something that is not true.
RUTH: She faced criticism because of her appearance.
JACQUELINE: Just because she is from Korea, people are calling her names even though she is healthy.
GARY: Stacy faced many people judging her by her nationality, but she had nothing to do with COVID-19
SIRENA: She faces mean texts, because of who she is as a person. Since Covid started in China and she’s Korean they think she has the coronavirus.
EVELYN: Stacy is facing racism due to a virus that isn’t in her system.
BREANNA: People are bullying and stereotyping her because of her race.
DELILAH: She’s experiencing the blame and hate for something she didn’t do and has no control over.
Answer one of the questions listed:
BREANNA: I have been bullied because of my race. People say that I used to own slaves because I'm white.
JACQUELINE: The phrase means we have different interests, but we are all human, and we should all be treated the same.
GARY: People used to bully me because of my height and said I didn't look Samoan. It made me feel like I didn’t belong there.
DESTINY: We are all different but we are the same means that just because we look different or believe in different things we have the same feelings and hurt the same.
SIRENA: Some things I could do to prevent this from happening are listening to the person's situation and telling an adult for it to stop and not get out of control.
REYNALDO: It means we all have different beliefs and we look different from one another but we all deserve to be treated equally and like everyone else. We shouldn't feel threatened just because we are different.
JAELYN: I have seen somebody go through a situation like this, and it made me sick to my stomach and I didn't like watching it for one second.
DENNISE: I been in a situation where they had told me to go back to Mexico or they were gonna call ICE on me just because am Mexican, which made me feel sad. How can someone say something so horrible when they don't know what it is like for people who actually get separated and that actually go through stuff like that?
JOSE: One thing you can do to prevent this is to stand up for people going through it and stick on their side.
Our thanks to Neti Sonavane for making this presentation to students at Narbonne High School and to teacher Michelle Fortune for enabling it. Educators, if you'd like to have the County of Heroes presented to your students and offer them a chance to participate in the art contest, contact PESA. Contest ends May 31. The overall winner will receive four two-day tickets (ages 10+) to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.