OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WTVA) -- East Oktibbeha County Elementary School held an event Monday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Junior and promote awareness to end bullying.
The event was titled Stamp Out Bullying and coupled Dr. King's messages of pacifist protest.
"The Martin Luther King holiday is about non-violence. And basically, Stamp Out Bullying is about non-violence. So we basically put this together for the students to know that Martin Luther King was basically an advocate for non-violence, and this Stamp Out Bullying project is about non-violence," said organizer Camala McNeal.
In the school's cafeteria, various stations were set up for students and parents to learn different aspects about bullying and prevention.
"We're setting up different booths, and we're working different booths. The booths are informative for students who have been bullied, and we also have students helping kids who have been bullied, talking to them and helping them," said volunteer Jasmine Eubanks.
The booths also helped educate younger students on the history of Martin Luther King Junior and how his messages and bullying today all tie together.
"As a community, it's all about growing and helping each other and looking after our fellow man. So today is a special day with Martin Luther King's birthday, and also, this is a special event for young people because we're growing as a community. And they're growing as young people, and together, we have to learn to respect each other. It all ties in," said parent Carlos Harris.
The bottom line was to inform students that oppression, even in the form of bullying, can be resolved without using violence.
"They can come to us and talk to us about bullying. If they are getting bullied, they need someone, a role model, that they can come to and express their feelings, and someone can tell them there is another way to deal with it other than with violence," added McNeal.
Organizers plan on doing the event next year as well but said that bullying prevention is an everyday matter.
