Sirrita Darby, an English Teacher at Detroit Collegiate High School, is helping her students heal from the trauma they face on a daily basis living in a society that wasn't built for them.
According to ACE, one in every four students currently sitting in American classrooms have experienced a traumatic event, and the number is even greater for those living in impoverished communities. Ms. Darby’s solution: tend to life troubles at school, instead of sending students home. This solution gave her a charge that gifted the world Forbidden Tears.
She started the inception of the book with what she calls “healing sessions,” where students sat in circles so no one’s presence or pain was invisible and listened to each other share their own individual stories of trauma (first starting with her own). Students turned their stories into written narratives, poems and essays which compiled formed Forbidden Tears. She helped them through the stages of publishing and the book is now ready to be shared with the world.
Proceeds from the book will go directly to the funding of a class trip next year to Costa Rica where students will be able to see a world beyond their own individual boundaries which will result in further healing. The students have also committed to offering a donation to a nonprofit organization focused on combating trauma in the black community if Forbidden Tears sells more 500 copies.
To learn more about Detroit Collegiate High School and what the students there are doing visit www.detroitcollegiate.org [detroitcollegiate.org]
