MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County Schools students packed the Orpheum Friday to learn more about Black History Month and safety issues that affect the community now.
“Don’t touch a gun. Never touch a gun,” sang a performer.
The event was about more than just the past. It also looked to the future, including warnings against violence.
“I have a personal experience which involves some of the consequences of gun violence, because it has affected my own family,” one student told the assembly.
“Making the right decisions, staying away from weapons, not resorting to violence, I think, just kind of goes hand in hand. We just want to make sure that our kids make that connection and honor the legacy that so many people fought for,” said SCS Superintendent Dorsey Hopson.
Sherwood Elementary student Decorrio Smith gave a speech at the assembly, acting as historic social justice activist W.E.B. Du Bois.
“In the 50s and 60s, and even before that, during the Civil War time, many of those speakers are assuring that our future today is having racial equality and way from violence period,” Smith told WREG.
SCS administrators said that despite an uptick in crime around the city, the district has seen a decrease in instances of violence and weapons being brought to schools.
They hope that through events like this one, targeting young students, it can continue that trend and prevent violence down the road.
“We know that when youth start as early as we’re starting with the elementary students, the message will sink in and it will go forward,” said SCS Chief of School Services Gerald Darling.
WREG requested numbers from the school system, proving the decrease in weapon-related incidents at schools, but the district has not sent those to us just yet.