PeacePlayers US Storybook 2021 - Flipbook - Page 19
2021 UNITED STATES STORYBOOK
2021 UNITED STATES STORYBOOK
WHEN COURAGE SPEAKS
When the Detroit Pistons and PeacePlayers United States began
designing a series of community conversations in 2020, the idea
was simple: gather dozens of parents, youth and community
leaders into one room to discuss important issues facing the
Detroit community and come up with common sense ideas to try
and resolve them.
Everything went as planned. Except the getting together in one
room part.
But that finally changed for the fifth Community Conversation on
August 12, 2021, at the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance
Center, the Pistons’ state-of-the-art training facility, when
improved Covid guidelines made it possible to meet in person
rather than on Zoom call.
The conversation’s series, which was first launched in May,
2020, has been championed by Pistons leadership, including
chairman Arn Tellem and Vice President of Community & Social
Responsibility, Erika Swilley.
The determination to be proactive members of the Detroit
community is what brought over 50 people together in a room
overlooking two glistening basketball courts on a steamy day in
August.
The topic – “A Return To In-Person Learning” – was selected to
allow students, parents, school administrators, police officers and
other civic leaders to discuss ways to best handle the upcoming
school year when students would finally be returning to the
classroom on a full-time basis.
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After a warm welcome to all from Pistons senior vice president of
marketing Alicia Jeffreys, PeacePlayers Detroit Director Jasmine
Cooper assumed hosting duties and the evening’s festivities were
underway.
Everyone who wanted an opportunity to speak was given a
chance, with the students in attendance – including several
members of the Pistons Youth Council – being just as willing to
speak their mind as any of the adults.
Many of the adults in attendance during the 2 1/2-hour event
shared their insights into the best way schools can operate during
the coming year. But everyone agreed it was the kids who stole
the show.
Youth Council member Kassidy Williams said she was “excited
to be able to join clubs and go to games again. To feel normal.”
Cameron Collins, a student representing the AAA Mentor
Program, said he was just “looking forward to having a normal
schedule again.”
“To the young people who spoke, thank you,” said Detroit Board of
Education President Angelique Peterson-Mayberry. “Thank you
for being courageous enough to come here and be transparent
and open up about your fears. That is something adults still can’t
do. So I commend you for that.”
But with Covid still very much a concern, exactly how “normal”
things really could be was on the mind of Youth Council member
and PeacePlayers participant, Carrington Boards.
Pistons legend and former Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, who
participated in the group discussions, came away extremely
impressed by the young people – several of whom were involved
with PeacePlayers Detroit – who came to try and carve out a
better future for themselves, their peers and the kids who will
come after them.
“How are we going to keep the air clean?,” she asked. “How are
we going to filter out Covid while students are in the school?
Another concern I have is how are we going to connect with other
students in our school?
“Last year was my first year of high school, and I didn’t get to
connect with a lot of people in our class. So how are we going to
get to know people? Covid has caused a lot of teenagers stress and
anxiety. How are we going to cope?”
With those questions and others like it lingering in the air,
everyone in attendance broke up into six groups to begin discussing
topics and coming up with possible solutions. For example, on
the topic of education concerns, some possible solutions included
creating a Safe Detroit Play Center and having more community
meetings for those impacted.
“Listening today, it’s the first time that I’ve been exposed to a lot
of the kids at PeacePlayers,” Bing said. “But they seem to be very
motivated, they seem to be engaged. They want to share things
that they’ve been exposed to, things that they’ve learned with
their counterpoints.
“Having the opportunity to listen to them and give them a
little bit of advice it’s exceptional what the Pistons are doing,
I’m happy to see this.”
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