Pine Bluff Interested Citizens for Voter Registration Inc. Pen or Pencil Mentoring Movement invites schools to participate in a boycott of negative behaviors in the “Nonviolence to No Violence Challenge.”
The boycott will run from Friday through March 1, 2024, for students in the Pine Bluff and Watson Chapel school districts and Friendship Aspire Public Charter Schools, according to a news release.
The dates symbolize the start of the 1955 Bus Boycott in Montgomery, Ala., led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Students are encouraged to boycott negative behaviors including classroom disruptions, insubordination, verbal conflict, fighting, demeaning language, hitting/pushing, bullying, tardy, and gang behavior.
This activity aims to reduce harmful behaviors on school campuses as students “Take A Stand To Keep A Seat” in the classrooms as Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks did to keep a seat on the bus.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“It helps scholars learn conflict resolution skills and how to change personal citizenship without engaging in negative behaviors. The activity exposes them to the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement because many of our young Black scholars have no idea about the Civil Rights Movement,” according to the Rev. Jesse Turner, PBICVR executive director.
PBICVR will use the data captured from each participating school to determine the winning school. School behavior data should be returned to pbicvr@aol.com on or before March 12, 2024, by 5 p.m. to choose the winner. (Data won’t be for public consumption.)
The winning elementary school receives a pizza party, a field trip to Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, and a proclamation of recognition from Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley M. Washington. The winning high school receives a pizza party, a guest motivational speaker, and a proclamation from the mayor.
The Nonviolence To No Violence Campaign is supported by the 400 Years of African American History Federal Commission, POP National Alliance of Faith and Justice, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, Woodson Center, the city of Pine Bluff, and the United Way of Southeast Arkansas, according to the news release.
Social and civic organizations who want to adopt a school and help them win a prize should contact Pine Bluff Interested Citizens for Voter Registration Inc. at (870) 730-1131.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the location of the 1955 bus boycott.