Rally Against the ‘R-Word’ This Friday
By Jon Whiten • Mar 3rd, 2010 • Category: Blog
About 40 Jersey City public schools are teaming up with the Special Olympics for a rally this Friday as part of a broader “Project Unify — Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign to educate and raise awareness about individuals with intellectual disabilities and the offensive use of the words “retard” and “retarded” (aka the “R-Word”).
Jersey City currently has more than 4,500 students that participate in Special Olympics within their schools, including unified programs where students with and without intellectual disabilities play sports together.
More than 2,200 students and staff are expected to attend Friday’s event. Student performances during the rally will include skits, raps, songs, spoken word and dance. Themes will include empathy, unity and respect.
The rally is slated to take place at St. Peter’s College on Friday, March 5 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. For more on the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign, visit www.r-word.org. To learn more about competing, volunteering or supporting Special Olympics New Jersey, visit www.sonj.org.
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Jon Whiten is the founding editor of the Jersey City Independent; he now works for a public-policy nonprofit in Trenton.
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