FOCUS: Promoting friendship, understanding with Kindred Kids

Students from North Charleston Elementary and Mason Prep are participating in the new Kindred Kids program by Wings for Kids. Photo provided by Mason Prep.

By Bridget Laird  | In the wake of yet two more high-profile mass shootings—in Colorado Springs and San Bernardino—and as two more communities embark on the long, painful healing process, America is again confronted with the terrible toll of intolerance and hatred.

Laird

Our own community, here in Charleston, continues to struggle against those forces. And we are all working daily to soothe the still-raw wounds of the nine murders at Mother Emanuel AME Church, the latest tragedy in our city’s long legacy of racist violence.

However, in response to an attack intended to inspire increased hatred and divisiveness, Charleston has instead witnessed the tremendous power of community and compassion. The outpouring of support has shown us that despite the deep-seated divides that persist in our community, we can come together as a city to heal, and to begin to address those divides in meaningful and constructive ways.

Nearly six months have passed since June 17, and in that time activists, faith and community leaders, and many others have stepped up this healing work. And although we still have a long way to go, we can find hope in the fact that just as racism and hate are learned and passed down, so too are empathy and friendship.

WINGS for Kids—a social and emotional learning program I lead here in Charleston—has long focused on instilling the values and skills of empathy, friendship and compassion in the young people we work with everyday. But after June 17, we are challenged to do more to ensure that kids in Charleston do not grow up isolated from one another, fearful of one another, or intolerant of one another on the basis of race or any other differences.

So in recognition of the divides that still cleave Charleston, WINGS has begun program called Kindred Kids. The program seeks to help promote friendship and understanding among the young people in our city. By fostering connections among students from different backgrounds—racial, cultural, socioeconomic or otherwise—Kindred Kids helps young people to see themselves and each other in new ways, and as a part of diverse social fabric.

In this, its first year, Kindred Kids is starting small, bringing together fourth graders at two very different Charleston schools—North Charleston Elementary School and Mason Prep—students who might not otherwise ever meet. Each participant in the program is paired with a peer from the other school, and the two correspond, before they meet for the first time, in order get to know each other and develop a relationship. When each pair does meet in person, at gatherings hosted by WINGS, they play games, share meals, participate in guided conversations and learn valuable social and emotional skills. In the time between these meetings, each pair continues to correspond, sharing their lives and deepening their relationships.

Of course, we recognize that the Kindred Kids program is just a small step towards overcoming the enduring prejudice and mistrust that has divided Charleston, and, indeed, the country, for far too long. However, we also realize that to accept the status quo—and to treat these challenges as insurmountable—is not an option. Over the past six months we have seen the power of what individuals and groups can do when they come together as one.

We hope this project will serve as one among many rooted, fundamentally, in compassion and empathy, that Charlestonians have already undertaken and will launch in the months and years to come.

Bridget Laird is CEO of WINGS for Kids.