GREENWOOD, S.C. (AP) - Nowadays Diana Pearson is welcome at Phoenix Place Apartments like she’s family for many residents there, but when she started teaching at Lakeview Elementary, she didn’t know the first thing about how to connect with that community.
In 1994, one of her first-grade students raised a concern over feeling unsafe at home.
“I told him, ’Well don’t worry, I promise I’ll make sure you’re safe,’” Pearson said. “He said ’You can’t promise that. You can’t go down there.’”
She didn’t go down there, but she called the police and an officer checked on the apartment complex all night, calling her regularly to update her. When her student came to school the next day he was aghast - why did she call the police? She learned firsthand that the solution that made the most sense to her wasn’t one that brought comfort to her student, but increased tensions further.
She’s taken a different approach since then. Over the years, she’s taught special education, music, fourth and fifth grades.
“When I taught special ed, most of my kids were from that neighborhood, from Taggart Avenue and Phoenix,” she said.
When the DARE program promoted calling police whenever students saw someone using drugs, she emphasized to students that their first priority should be to stay safe. Their day-to-day lives were different from other students’, and they may go home and see close guardians and relatives using drugs, Pearson said.
When students left her classes and moved on, she didn’t leave them. She would still visit them, knocking on the door of their apartment and waiting to be let in. She didn’t want to seem like the stodgy, white teacher coming to tell parents how they should raise their children, instead she was just a concerned friend coming to hang out.
“They’re not just my students - they have become my friends,” she said. “They’re my extended family.”
She doesn’t carry an ounce of judgment with her when she walks into Phoenix Place Apartments, and she said that’s what’s earned her their respect. It’s always been her goal to help elevate her students by treating them with dignity and respect even after they leave her classroom, but in November something happened that’s given her more fervor.
On Nov. 21, Emyle McDuffie was fatally shot at Phoenix Place Apartments. The 24-year-old father of two died later at the hospital. Pearson taught one of the three people arrested in connection with McDuffie’s death, along with one of McDuffie’s cousins.
“Emyle went to school and rode the bus with his killers,” she said. “Something in this neighborhood has broken down.”
The shooting changed her mindset and sparked in her a passion to do what she can for her former students and their families. She goes to Phoenix Place to provide transportation for students without access to cars, so they can get to school. For students who have dropped out, she helps them study and apply to get their GED.
“I’m white, I’m educated and I’ve got a really big mouth,” she said. “If people aren’t going to listen to their needs, maybe I can help speak for them.”
The Detroit native babysits for friends at Phoenix Place, and is welcome at barbecues. She’s nearing the end of her doctoral program now, studying social justice, and while she was getting her education she had a support system of people who helped her accomplish her goals.
Now, she seeks out people to support the way she was supported. She’s become an advocate for the neighborhood, hailing the love found in the tight-knit families and the wealth of friendship when people come together.
“This is our community,” she said. “This is a different part of our community that needs to be loved and appreciated and included for their beauty.”
She’s been in touch with Slick, the leader of the BowlLane group and a former resident of Phoenix Place. While often labeled a gang, she said BowlLane is a record label Slick has organized in Atlanta. While some young men who followed in his footsteps may have stepped out of line, she said Slick still cares deeply for his neighborhood.
“He’s got a heart for the community, such a heart for the people,” she said. “Let’s use what we have and let’s use it for good.”
She said she’s hoping to work with him to organize more community events that will bring people together.
In her quest to reduce violence, she’s brought suggestions to community meetings including rezoning schools so students living at Phoenix Place can walk to schools instead of struggling to secure transportation. She said a fence around the complex could slow any future shooters, making them easier to catch. Raised speed bumps would slow the escape of drive-by shooters.
“She’s just a different kind of individual, and she’s so fierce. Diana has a heart for people, regardless of color,” said Greenwood County Councilwoman Edith Childs. “If there were more people like her, a lot of things would be different.”
Though the needle has only begun to move with a greater community focus on improving the quality of life for people in south Greenwood, Pearson said it’s a matter of being her brother’s keeper.
“I’m sure there’s a naive side of me coming in these neighborhoods,” she said, “but I’d rather it be said if something happens that I did what I loved.”
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Information from: The Index-Journal, http://www.indexjournal.com
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