Last week, I left June Jordan School for Equity completely inspired. I’d been there to do a workshop for the school-wide violence prevention week and had the honor to spend 70 minutes with Ms. Nieto’s 9th grade art class. The topic I gave them was “paint about a time you or somebody you know was effected by violence.” As soon as I gave them the topic, I worried that it was too heavy for a one-time class meeting; I couldn’t imagine a more potentially loaded topic. I second guessed myself for just a moment, but then decided that I would have faith in the students. In fact, they all took it just as deep as they needed to.
I was most moved by the two students who dove right in and painted about what could possibly be the worst experiences I could possibly imagine. Cassandra’s painting was about watching her friend get shot at Mission and Harrison Streets. She watched him die on that corner, she said, before the police and ambulance got there because “they took their time – too long.”
Tyree wrote a rap about his brother and the drive by shooting that took his life. The poetry of his writing, the lyrical rhythm of the words was in stark contrast to the grizzly scene he gave shape to in his painting. I asked him when the drive by took place. He said August, only 3 months ago.
And that’s the thing that inspired me. Only three months into grieving his brother’s senseless murder, Tyree was at school, showing up, learning. Both he and Cassandra were so present to their pain without letting it crush them, without numbing out. I really believe that this is the healing process in action. I am in awe of the courage and strength these two show in dealing with the reality they were born into. I’m in awe and in spite of the horrific nature of what came up in the paintings, I left the school a little more hopeful that when I went in.
