This #NoHate heart is helping Ferndale High School overcome hatred
A red heart-shaped statue with the words #NoHate went on display last week near the main office at Ferndale High, part of a community response to white supremacist intimidation of racial minorities and others in Whatcom County.
A ceremony to mark the sculpture’s installation featured school and city officials, students and Lummi tribal members.
“It’s a long mountain climb to overcome hatred,” said Bernie Thomas, director of education at Lummi Nation School.
“I think we’re all hard-wired to hate, just in the same way that we are hard-wired to gossip,” Thomas said. “So it takes the intent of leadership to be able to begin to understand this and to incorporate those positive lessons.”
#NoHate grew out of the Council of Europe’s 2013 No Hate Speech Movement, a youth-led effort in response to rising bigotry across the continent.
Ferndale resident Sara O’Connor said that she and her husband created the sculpture from high-density foam in direct response to the Patriot Front flyers that were posted downtown.
In addition to the statue, some 200 large red paper hearts displaying inspirational messages adorn the school hallways, part of a project led by two Ferndale High students.
“Everybody has their own interpretation of what the heart might mean, and what they think we might do to help build a stronger community, rather than separate us,” said junior Hope Jose-Day, who promoted the project with senior Addi Ericksen.
“We adopted the heart after there had been some racist things going around the city,” Jose-Day said. “And the school has decided to adopt that to show that there is no tolerance in our school, in our community for any kind of hate, racism or bullying.”
Ferndale schools Superintendent Linda Quinn said the ceremony allowed the school district to reaffirm its stance against bullying, racial intolerance and bigotry of all kinds.
School officials confirmed last month that a racist message was written on a classroom dry-erase board.
Quinn apologized for past incidents of harassment and racism at the school.
“Our bottom line — my bottom line — is that the Ferndale School District must be a place where every student has the right to learn in an environment that is free of harassment, bullying, violence and racism,” Quinn said. “This is not about politics. It’s about doing what’s right.”
Smaki’ya’, who teaches language and leadership at Ferndale High, said he encourages his students to think for themselves and believe in themselves.
“I feel that the past couple of years we’ve been taking great steps,“ Smaki’ya’ said. “The only way we grow is if we open up our minds, open up our hearts.”
O’Connor was encouraged by the students’ actions.
“It makes my heart full,” she told The Bellingham Herald. “It was an act that I could take in the moment. That’s exactly what this project is for — the kids.”
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
