02.03.10
Pictured above: Head of Middle School Debbie Lamm, Dorothy Counts-Scoggins, Middle School band teacher Boyd Johnston, and Director of Diversity Nick Wharton
Dorothy Counts-Scoggins speaks about acceptance
Dorothy Counts-Scoggins, one of four African-Americans who attempted to integrate Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in 1957, spoke to Middle School students in Thies Auditorium on Wednesday, Feb. 3. She emphasized the importance of teaching acceptance and talked about her first day at the then all-white Harding High School, where she endured students and adults yelling racial slurs at her, spitting on her, and throwing objects on her as she made the walk to the school’s entrance. She explained to the students that she was determined to go to the school, and kept telling herself that she wasn’t going “to allow anyone to keep me from what I know is right.”
While only at Harding for a short while due to the threat of violence against her and her family, she noted that she looked at the experience “as a challenge and as a way to be a part of change.” Her experience also led to her advocacy for the equal rights of all humans, and she works “so that that which happened to me will not happen to another child.”
Counts-Scoggins’ presentation was the “kick off” for Middle School advisory lessons concerning inclusivity. The lessons, which were developed by the Middle School Diversity Committee led by Middle School band teacher Boyd Johnston, include activities to foster understanding of diversity, inclusivity and empathy.