May 7, 2021: We Will Not Be Silent
We had an opportunity to visit with Belmont principal Kim Rosenthal and national speaker and coach Keith Brown, both featured in the LPS documentary “We Will Not Be Silent” about the work they’ve done this school year.
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Video Transcript
Mindy Burbach 0:18
Hello, I’m Mindy Burbach, communications director for Lincoln Public Schools.
Don Mayhew 0:22
And I’m Don Mayhew, one of your Lincoln Board of Education members. Welcome to LPS board update. This shows an opportunity for us to learn more about what’s happening around Lincoln Public Schools and for you, our community, to ask questions.
Mindy Burbach 0:35
If you do have any questions about our topic today, enter them into the chat and we’ll answer them during our live show on Tuesday. Don, this week, Lincoln Public Schools Library Services premiered their documentary, a story of empowerment, education and inspiration. The documentary We Will Not Be Silent follows the four month journey of eight scholars from Belmont Elementary School and the mentors who guide them as they prepare for their moving performance at the Martin Luther King Jr. Youth rally and march in January 2021.
Don Mayhew 1:02
We had an opportunity to visit last week with Belmont principal Kim Rosenthal, and national speaker and coach Keith Brown, both featured in the documentary, about the work they’ve done this school year. Here’s that conversation.
It is such a pleasure and an honor to talk with our guests today. We are joined by Kim Rosenthal, the principal at Belmont Elementary School. And also joining us is a speaker, an author, a consultant, a coach, and we’ll talk about this in a minute, but he’s also now a movie star, Mr. Keith Brown. Thank you both for joining us today.
Kim Rosenthal 1:35
Yes, thank you for having us.
Keith L. Brown 1:37
Thank you so very much. Honor to be here.
Don Mayhew 1:40
All right, Keith, let’s start with you. People who want to can follow you on Twitter, @KeithLBrown1911 and your website is www.keithlbrown.com. First, tell us about the work you do and then tell us why you do it.
Keith L. Brown 1:56
Well, first and foremost, I am honored to be here in THE Lincoln Public School District, where many are giving our scholars tangible tools for them to be lifelong learners, and responsible citizens in an ever changing society. Therefore, I’m not only a guest in the district, I am a member of the district, a servant leader in the district. For this is what I do every day and whether I’m in a district nationally or globally, I’ve never seen myself as a guest. It is incumbent upon me to come to the district and fit right into the mold of servant leader and so first and foremost, I am a servant leader, who has the nerve to serve, I have the nerve to serve, and I feed the need to lead. I’m a professional speaker, an author by trade, coach, trainer and director of External Affairs in the Georgia Senate. But most importantly, I am a servant leader that takes individuals from impossible to it’s possible. And ultimately, I’m possible.
Don Mayhew 3:14
I’m glad that you said that as I was looking through your twitter feed. One of your tweets was was you rapping with a skill and rhythm that I will never possess and one of the things that you that you say is it’s I’m Possible, not Impossible. Tell us what that means to you?
Keith L. Brown 3:31
Well, it starts with my story, the story of being labeled “special ed” being labeled “at risk” for much of my life. Born in Savannah, Georgia, raised in Queens, New York, and was fortunate enough to attend public schools in both Georgia and New York. But labeled “special ed” was one of those systematic labels, you understand and there were many times I didn’t feel like Mr. I’m Possible, I thought it was impossible. But I have those nurturing teachers, and those nurturing counselors and others like custodians, our educational support personnel, that doesn’t often get a lot of credit. Okay, the ladies in the cafeteria, the transportation team, all of these individuals who nurtured me, family members who nurtured me as well, who taught me that I was not special ed, but I was special, that I was not just at risk, but I would take risks. And so that stuck, because if you can imagine being in a class of 35, and being pulled out, and then you go into a class of five and then at that moment, I knew that I was small, and black and different. And many scholars across the country known when they are pulled out that they’re small, and they’re different. And so it wasn’t always impossible, but because of those individuals after mentioned, I went from impossible to it’s possible because they taught me how to start believing in myself how to implement the tools that I was giving the lessons that I was learning, I had to implement those. And then ultimately I went from “it’s possible” to “I’m possible” because you see, Don, we cannot allow our scholars to stop at “it’s possible”, because “it’s possible” really means it can happen, it may happen, it should happen, what could happen, but then we leave it up to chance, we must teach our scholars to be intentional about their futures. And when that happens, then they are transformed into “I’m possible”. And when you say “I’m possible”, then you’re willing to do the work to be not only successful, but to be significant servant leaders in a global society.
Don Mayhew 5:38
Keith, I really appreciate you saying that and I’ll tell you that it really resonates with me personally. When I was young, I grew up very poor and I remember those times where something was happening at school with school lunches, or a field trip that I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do because we couldn’t afford it. And I remember so many times thinking that I wish that the people who are in positions to make these decisions could could decide something that would make my life a little easier for the day. And I’ll tell you that so many of our kids now have so many more challenges than I ever had, and the work that our teachers are doing in our classrooms every day, I just have so much respect for that. I know that you have been working with Belmont Elementary this year. Talk about that work a little bit.
Keith L. Brown 6:22
First of all, it’s THE Belmont Elementary School. With emphasis on “THE”. And people always say why do you say THE, because it lets them know that they’re the only ones in that particular environment, that these scholars at Belmont, whether it’s 7 or 800 of them, they are a small cell in the nucleus of over 40,000 scholars that we serve in this outstanding district. And at Belmont, they say these eight affirmations every day that I was able to bring to the to the platform.
Don Mayhew 6:58
“I love myself, I believe in myself, I’m proud of myself, I’m a genius. I can, I will, I must. And I got this.”
Keith L. Brown 7:12
Now make no mistake about it. I brought this these eight affirmation to the platform. So I gave them motivation, and some education and transformation and inspiration. But it was the leadership of kindhearted Kim Rosenthal, that gave them the implementation. And those teachers are doing it every day. And they do it with enthusiasm. So what we must understand is how scholars can receive all the motivation, inspiration, education, but if we don’t do implementation, then we’re not going to see a huge difference. But I’ve seen the difference, working with those scholars working with the teachers and the education support personnel, working with those parents and so you know, I am a cougar. I’m a cougar, so it doesn’t matter. I hope to go to other schools in the district. But there will be you know, up front, they will know that there’s a Cougar coming right to your school. And then of course, I will be merged into the family of other schools as well. So the work that I’ve done the Belmont and this is just a year, let me just say this, it’s a year. And you know, Don, what makes it even more relevant and phenomenal. We’ve been doing all of this during a pandemic. So that should let all of us know how resilient we are individually and collectively. And if we can do it, do it during a pandemic, and not just the pandemic of COVID-19. But the pandemic of systemic racism, the pandemic of low self-esteem, all of these pandemics we have in society. If we can do it, in the midst of a pandemic, we can produce individuals like the TRACK scholars, who just changed so many lives on last night. And they say, “We will not be silent.” And I believe that’s what our scholars are saying across the district, “We will not be silent.” But here’s the catch. I don’t mind you not being silent. So it is now my duty to give you a voice and to allow you to exercise that. And that’s what they do at Belmont and hopefully throughout the entire district.
Don Mayhew 9:25
I think you’re right. And we’ve talked about this at board meetings too, how the equity work that we’ve been doing in this last year with all of the challenges that we faced, this is still bubbled to the top as a priority for us and I think that that is a statement of the the priorities of the district. Kim, let’s go to you for a second. We’re I, we’re going to be talking about the documentary in a moment. And the work that the Belmont TRACKS scholars were doing to get ready for the MLK rally. Talk to us a little bit about that process and the work that your students did.
Kim Rosenthal 9:56
So our students are identified as a TRACKS Scholar as a fourth grader,
Don Mayhew 10:02
What does that mean?
Kim Rosenthal 10:04
It is a leadership program. They, it is a program where students go through a series of exercises to really dig deep and learn about themselves. And they really think about this leadership that they have within themselves, and they bring it out. And they talk about being good citizens, they talk about being good scholars. It is, it is a way for us to build tomorrow’s leaders. So they start that program in fourth grade, and they go through that program. And then as fifth graders, this group is able to participate in what we call the book project. And the book project is what the students perform on MLK Day. And through the book project, it starts in the fall. And the students are given a book, and that is chosen by our Library Media Services department in LPS and by Pete Ferguson. And they identify a book that the scholars are going to work, work through, and they pick apart this book, and they look at what is really being said in the book. They interpret the book, they use literacy skills that they’re learning in fifth grade to really dig deep into the book. The book always has an equity underlying theme. So then the students will work to write the script. And they put some, some information into the script about what’s going on in the world about equity. Then they rehearse and rehearse and rehearse and they perform the book at the MLK rally. And this year, we were not able to do a live performance at the MLK rally. And so it was a videoed, a video performance. And that is kind of where the documentary came from, that we premiered last night. It’s a documentary of the journey of the scholars as they developed their performance.
Don Mayhew 12:04
Kim, how has the work that your students have done been affected by having Mr. Brown in the building?
Kim Rosenthal 12:11
He has, he’s been another consultant for them, and has has added another layer of energy to their work. They have been able to work with him, he has taken them through some exercises. They, He’s helped them to really dig deep. And I don’t, I want to say that it’s not just them that Mr. Brown has impacted. We had Mr. Brown join us virtually for an all school assembly at the beginning of the school year. He also did a staff assembly during professional development that first week and he has impacted our entire school. He mentioned that we say eight affirmations every day and the kids live by that. And when I have talked with kids about our work with Mr. Brown, they have talked about “he’s given me confidence.” “When I’m taking a test and I get stuck, I say those eight affirmations and I know I can do it.” “He’s helped me to believe in myself.” “He’s given me confidence.” “He helps me know that I can do hard things.” And so he really his impact has gone far beyond just our track scholars, he really has impacted our entire family at Belmont.
Don Mayhew 13:25
Kim, I know you and Keith were both at the Playhouse last night with our Belmont TRACKS scholars for the viewing of this documentary, We Will Not Be Silent. I’m planning to see it this weekend. After I watch it, what am I going to be feeling?
Kim Rosenthal 13:38
I can’t tell you what you’re going to be feeling each individual has their own, has their own feeling. For me, I felt I had the sense of pride because of all my little, all my kids, seeing my kids up there, my scholars up there and speaking what’s in their hearts, what’s in their soul. Watching my staff lead them through a series of activities to help bring racism to the service for what it means for them. Pride that we are developing these scholars that are going to impact far beyond their time at Belmont, that they’re going to impact middle school that they’re going to impact High School, what they’re, they’re going to impact what they do after high school. And just thinking about the ripple effect that these kids are going to have as they go out into the world. And I think that this is just kind of a stepping stone for these kids and for our for our work in equity. And just listening to these kids makes, it makes me very hopeful that we are all going to continue to grow and make change in the world.
Don Mayhew 14:54
That sounds neat. I’m really looking forward to it. Keith, How did this get started? How did you get involved with our Belmont TRACKS scholars.
Keith L. Brown 15:01
Well, first and foremost, as kind hearted Kim was talking about the scholars, I’m starting to weep now. But these are tears of joy. Because you can’t see what I saw on last night and you can’t feel what I felt and not leave empowered, and not leave hopeful and not leave knowing that change is coming. You know, Sam Cooke, late, great Sam Cooke at a early song said “A Change Gonna Come”. And, and these, these Belmont scholars are the manifestation of that change. And I call these, I call them like, 60s children. They remind me of the children from the civil rights movement, because a lot of times we see adults who are marching, but we forget, there were many children, that were marching many children and young people as well. And not just marching in America, marching in Tiananmen Square in China, marching in Soweto, South Africa, you know, okay, marching, and that March, literally that March of 2020, when COVID hit, well actually, when it hit us, I would say that, I met, not met, but became reconnected with a gentleman by the, who I call Purposeful Pete Ferguson. And here I am a keynote speaker at this national conference, global and national thought leaders, and he approached me, and he wanted to talk about Lincoln Public Schools. And as he talked about the district, he mentioned, the TRACKS scholar and, he asked me if I would speak for any event. And And typically, he would have to go through my director of operations or, you know, my booking Bureau, and but there was something about the passion that this man exuded, I mean, he would not leave me alone. He would not leave me alone, right, literally. Okay. And so every session, if I was doing a session, he was in my session, and, you know, he would say, “Great job.” “So so so Mr. Brown, what do you think, do you think you could…” and I, and I attempted to put him off and, and then I finally, I said, “Listen, give me a call, here’s my cell, I want you to call me.” And then he did something that really impacted my life. He pulled out a photo from, I believe a decade earlier, of the two of us at a conference. And he said, I watched your work, and I know these children will be impacted by your work. And I cried like I do. I said, Yes. And my life has been enriched ever since then, in a way that it would not have been enriched. And because Belmont Elementary, and the TRACKS scholars because they enriched my life over the course of the last year, the hundreds of thousands of individuals that I have engaged with, their lives have been enriched as a direct result of Lincoln Public Schools in general, but Belmont Elementary in particular. And that’s the cycle of “Each one reach one.” So Purposeful Pete advocated for those scholars in the district. I was brought in, and a year later, I’m a much better human being because of Belmont Elementary and those TRACKS scholars.
Don Mayhew 18:37
I think you’ve learned something that a lot of us know. When Pete sets his mind to something he’s not going to be put off. So I’m glad that he was a persistent with you.
Keith L. Brown 18:45
You all should have warned me! Absolutely.
Don Mayhew 18:50
Keith, I know that part of why you’re in Lincoln right now is to support the film and thank you for doing that. What else do you have planned while you’re here?
Keith L. Brown 18:56
Well, definitely kind hearted Kim Rosenthal took me on a wonderful tour yesterday, and I saw that historic stadium and shout out to Coach Tom Osborne and you know, and, you know, Go Big Red, so I’ve had an opportunity to see some of the historic sights in the city. Of course, I will be engaging other youth advocates in the district later on this afternoon. I’m really looking forward to that because I always love to touch the lives of those who touch the lives of our scholars. And, and then I’m going to journey back to my family in Atlanta, Georgia. And we’re going to have what I call some “release, relax and restore time” on this weekend and then we’re going to prepare to do it all over again as next week I’m preparing to fly to the great state of Wisconsin, and continue the journey that Robert Frost said and when he said “These woods are lonely, dark and deep but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep” and miles to go before I sleep and I live that every day.
Don Mayhew 20:00
Fantastic. One last thing I want to ask you about. In one of your tweets, you have #MentalHealthMatters and #Blackmentalhealthmatters. And at LPS, we’ve been recognizing this growing need for years, we’ve been funneling more resources into mental health supports, to try and respond to the increased needs of our kids, especially in this last year with COVID, we’ve seen more kids struggling with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. Describe for me some of the mental health needs and issues that the black community is dealing with.
Keith L. Brown 20:32
Wow. You know, you’re talking about years, you’re talking about years of trauma, for whatever, we know, centuries, right? of trauma. And I think it’s I not only think, but I know, during this time, and it’s very important for every, every school in the district to start each day with social-emotional learning, starting to check the mental and emotional well-being of every every child in the district, not just our black and brown children, but all children. But definitely honing in on our black and brown children, because for so many years, and I even I even grew up sometimes in a culture where we did not address mental health, it was taboo, it was taboo to talk about mental health, it was taboo to say that we never sat around the dinner table talking about that. So there’s more emphasis on that. And so when my son was little, you know, we, we were intentional, we were intentional and talking about his his mental and emotional well being. And it’s made him a much better person. And so we must do that, we must make certain that the emotional and mental pulse of our children is a top priority for, you can talk about differentiating instruction all day, but if they’re not focused, if that trauma is real on that day, and no one has tapped into it, to let them know it’s going to be okay to let them know you’re in a safe space, you’re in a safe space. And we love you, we’re going to nurture you. So do understand I want them to create a path for math, forming an alliance with science become buddies with social studies have a heart for language arts, but it’s so much more than that. Because if they graduate with a 4.0 as valedictorian, but when they walk across the stage, they don’t have the basic necessities that, that they deserve, they’re not treated as human beings, they’re not treated as human because of the hue man, you know, what’s going to be the value of that diploma to them? What’s going to be the value and how are they going to see themselves? And so it’s very important that we build them from a holistic standpoint. Letting them know that academic excellence is key. But even greater than that, is when we live in a society where we understand we were born human, but it takes effort to be humane. And when you put high expectations with humanity, and a culture of caring, and I believe that’s the ultim, that’s the ultimate goal.
Don Mayhew 23:41
Mr. Brown, thank you so much for sharing your humanity, your perspective, your time and your talents with our students. And Kim Rosenthal, thank you so much for the work that you do for our kids every day. That is the time we’ve got I would like to thank you both for joining with us today and talking about this important work. Thanks, guys.
Keith L. Brown 23:58
Thank you so much. Be empowered
Mindy Burbach 24:01
Don, definitely needed the tissues after that interview. What an inspiration.
Don Mayhew 24:06
That was an incredible interview. I enjoyed that so much, Mindy, I’ve got to ask you, I think you’ve been through it a couple of times. Have… You have you seen the movie… What, what did it make you feel?
Mindy Burbach 24:15
Oh my gosh, it’s so inspirational. And I knew just working here that there’s a lot of work that goes into that Martin Luther King youth rally and march and and everybody sits up and pays attention when the Belmont scholars performance. They’re usually the last performance of the event. And they always do a remarkable job and you just never had an idea of what that took to get to that point. And so this show gives you a glimpse behind the curtain so to speak, to see that work, but also how it relates to these students in everyday life and current events and everything that’s going on, especially this year in a pandemic and the social unrest. It is just an inspiration. I think it also shows the amazing work that our educators do on a daily basis and its not just during the school day, it’s very, I mean, this all happens after school. This is part of the Community Learning Centers. And it shows the importance of that extended learning through our Community Learning Centers, it is just a powerful one hour glimpse behind the curtain so to speak.
Don Mayhew 25:18
Now the film is called We Will Not Be Silent. If people want to watch it, how can they see it right now?
Mindy Burbach 25:23
Well, it is now live on our website, you can go to lps.org and it’s right there, you’ll see the movie poster, you can click on it, it’ll give you some quotes from the students, you get to meet the students who are featured in the film and then at the bottom of the page, you can view the full documentary. And if somebody would like to have a digital copy of the documentary to show it at their event or their school, they can request that through our blue contact us button on our website, we’d be happy to make that request, fulfill that request.
Don Mayhew 25:53
Fantastic.
Mindy Burbach 25:54
And if you have any questions about what you’ve heard here today, or anything that’s going on, you can ask on our Facebook page or on our website lps.org by clicking on that blue contact us button and we will work on answering your questions for our next episode.
Don Mayhew 26:07
Please join us for LPS Live Board Preview on Facebook Tuesday, May 11 at 5pm. Before our Board of Education meeting, you can find the agenda for our board meeting on our website. Thanks for joining us today.
Pete Ferguson 26:32
You guys ready? You guys excited?
How are you feeling, Evelyn? How are you Alejandra?
Alejandra M. 26:50
I feel nervous.
Pete Ferguson 26:52
You feel nervous? You’re gonna do your thing. How about you Payton?
Payton C. 26:54
Huh?
Pete Ferguson 26:54
How’re you doing?
Payton C. 26:56
Good
Pete Ferguson 26:56
You awake?
Payton C. 26:57
Sure.
Pete Ferguson 26:59
Mohamed, how ’bout you?
Mohamed S. 27:01
Good
Pete Ferguson 27:01
Okay, Kennedy, what about you? How you doing?
Kenadee B. 27:04
Good
Pete Ferguson 27:04
This is my pre-game interview. How you doing? Good? How ’bout you, Leriya’h? You’re gonna be all right? How you doing? What are the people about to be in store for?
Jevon P. 27:11
A lot of inspiration.
Pete Ferguson 27:12
A lot inspiration? What are they about to get? What are you about to get from you?
Mohamed S. 27:17
Some passion
Pete Ferguson 27:18
Some passion?
Eveline U. 27:18
Confidence.
Pete Ferguson 27:20
All right!
Leriya’h C. 27:25
So, if I’m speaking and everyone has thier last part do we all get off stage after that? After the…
Laura Virgl 27:31
I love myself, I believe in myself after that? That’s when you leave. You got this. You got it. We’ve had a lot of changes thrown up in the last hour and a half. They’re amazing. They’ve got this.
Kim Rosenthal 27:47
I’m excited. But I’m also really nervous. I am just thinking excited thinking about the possibilities of how many people these kids are going to empower here in just a few minutes.
Bobby Ehrlich 28:01
We had a situation this morning that took me away for a little while. But I came bolting through the campus.
Kenadee B. 28:21
Even today. Yes, today in 2021, there is still segregation. The 2021 Belmont TRACKS scholars bring to life This Is The Dream by Diane Z. Shore, Jessica Alexander and illustrated by James Ransome.
Alejandra M. 28:39
Our nation was founded on the belief that all men are created equal.
Payton C. 28:43
I’m here to represent a struggle that has gone on for 300 or more years
Eveline U. 28:49
However young you are. You have a responsibility to seek to make your nation a better nation in which to live.
Mohamed S. 28:58
We are the diners who have sat and have waited. While white. White-only counters ignoring the hate.
Ibrahim 29:06
Honestly, I just felt like I want to cry. I was so pleased so happy. So emotional.
Mohamed S. 29:15
We embrace our power.
Jevon P. 29:19
I introduce to you, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Eveline U. 29:29
I remember that Monday morning that I was able to be in court, chief defender.
Deseree Chavez 29:30
A lot of people don’t think that younger kids are capable of understanding everything that’s going on in the world right
Payton C. 29:37
I want you, yes YOU to take steps with me for justice for Breonna Taylor
Leriya’h C. 29:43
I, I walk together, taking 2.23 miles of steps of kindness. Honoring Ahmaud Arbery.
Deseree Chavez 29:52
This is like living proof that they do and that they’re acting in it as well.
Jevon P. 29:56
We must walk together for eight minutes and 46 seconds for equality for George Floyd.
Bobby Ehrlich 30:04
If so many people think, oh, they’re so young, they can’t understand this, but they do. They live it from their hearts and souls. They brought it, they shined, they empowered, they shared their voices. And they delivered the inspiration that the world needs.
Eveline U. 30:18
Let us be sure our hands are clean and the struggle, let us never fight with falsehood or violence, hate or malice but always fight with love.
Kenadee B. 30:29
We will be able to live people as their brothers and sisters.
Angelo U. 30:45
Sincerely, I am so glad. I did tear up. It shows that those kids they have what it takes.
Leriya’h C. 30:55
Even when in the world is nasty and harsh or offensive. The impact is still shattering
Iyonna C. 31:00
It’s just amazing to see the things that she wants to do at this age. And I’m so very proud of her
Leriya’h C. 31:06
What each of us must come to realize is that our intent always comes through
Alex M. 31:12
If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep on moving forward.
Keith L. Brown 31:26
And so as I wait now is because I think back to what I saw, and they believe every word and then to see them say we’re not finished yet. But they said those eight affirmations.
and when I see that, I know there’s hope for the future.
Pete Ferguson 31:59
Very few people this will be one of the first times people see what went on from October until that day. And that’s what I want people to see.
Updated May 7, 2021
