We're better than that

Geauga Campus hosts local MLK speaker 

By: Jessica McKendry, KSU Writer 

     Eric Scott Russell was a junior at Brush High School in 2001. He played sports, did well in school, and he was good at making friends. Eric was wise beyond his years, with a heart full of kindness and compassion. But none of these distinguishing characteristics seemed to matter to the yearbook editor who didn’t bother writing Eric’s name under his picture. Instead, Eric was labeled simply as “Blacky” in the published yearbook.Eric was the only black kid on the cross country team at Brush in 2001. He had previously attended school at St. Dominic for elementary school, University School for middle school, and then St. Ignatius as a freshman and sophomore, where he was no stranger to racially charged incidents. When his mother, Julie Martin (who recently spoke at the Twinsburg Academic Center) discovered what had happened, she immediately wanted to send him back to St. Ignatius. Eric replied, “No, Momma. I don’t want to go. I’m not going to keep running from this. I didn’t do anything wrong.” 

     Many times, Eric’s friends offered to try to get back at the yearbook editor by beating him up, but Eric wouldn’t let them. And it wasn’t for lack of size or strength that Eric didn’t confront the yearbook editor himself. “We’re better than that,” he said. After this incident, Eric joined Project Love, a student kindness organization at Brush. He told the director of Project Love, “You can’t correct hate with more hate. I just want to forgive the boy who did it and move on.”

     Sadly, on December 2, 2002, while he was in his senior year of high school, Eric passed away from bacterial meningitis. But Eric’s legacy lives on through Project Love’s scholarship, the Eric Scott Russell Student Kindness Award, which they give out to a student who has had to overcome adversity with compassion and forgiveness. Forty-four scholarships have been given out in Eric’s memory since his passing. 

     In an interview with Eric’s mother, Martin was asked, “What is the most important message you can give to young people today?” 

     Martin responded eloquently, “Kindness does matter. A kind word, a kind smile, letting someone know they have value, this is the most important thing we can do. We shouldn’t be tearing each other down; we need to build each other up with kindness, forgiveness, and love. That makes all the difference.” 

     Martin was a science teacher in Warrensville for 30 years, and now she is retired. She continues to work at Brush High School with Project Love, teaching Believe to Achieve to help teens learn kindness and mutual respect for one another. 

     Eric’s experience of racism is not unique in modern-day America. It is important for Americans to be educated about the struggles that minorities still face in the U.S. The best way to combat racism is through eliminating ignorance by promoting understanding, forgiveness, and kindness toward all members of the human race. 

     Not only does Eric’s legacy live on through Project Love’s scholarship, but also the Eric Scott Russell Student Kindness Award is given out to a student who has had to overcome adversity with compassion and forgiveness. Eric’s example is a fitting tribute to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King by showing how one person can make a difference for many.

Editor’s Note : This issue is produced during the State of Ohio’s COVID-19 Stay at Home Order. We hope you find the information in it entertaining, memorable, and most of all, useful.