“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river and we need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in,” said writer, composer and humanitarian Robert Spencer Knotts quoting South African bishop and theologian Desmond Tutu.
As founder and president of The Humanity Project®, Knotts creates and directs programs that go into public, private and charter elementary schools promoting the nearly 21-year-old non-profit organization’s motto, “Equality For Each, Respect For All!” In reaching young students, he hopes to change their attitudes and behavior before middle school where bullying most occurs.
“We go in and try to change a school,” Knotts explained. “We believe that LGBTQ students can be helped best by creating an environment where students in school— those who may be questioning, those who are LGBT, as well as students who are not—have a sense of their own value.”
Knotts has infused his own research and philosophy into the programs. Identity failure, a term he coined and details in his book Beyond Me: Dissecting Ego to Find the Innate Love at Humanity’s Core, refers to the fact that we tend to seek validation from others and when that doesn’t occur we begin to doubt ourselves. To combat that, he teaches students about his approach called “shared value” in which focusing on self-worth and helping others feel equal and respected will benefit everyone.
“We can’t say enough good things about The Our Fund Foundation,” Knotts stressed. “They have been in our corner for many years now. They’ve been instrumental in helping us to develop, expand, and get the program out there. When it comes to these programs for kids and the programs that are particularly targeting being helpful to the LGBTQ population, without them we wouldn’t be able to do them, or at least not the way we do.”
One of the programs Our Fund supports is the Humanity Club, in which the Humanity Project works with school administrators and counselors to identify students who can create materials and activities that send a positive message to their peers and create an environment that is respectful to the LGBTQ population.
“We identify those student leaders and then work with them for months, or in some cases even years,” Knotts said. “They help us modify the program in ways that they feel will connect with their peers or even come up with new ideas.”
These activities range from fifth-grade students mentoring second- and third-grade students to arts-based projects such as posters and creating a humanity garden.
“Kids create a garden in the school that then becomes a focal point for kids to be able to go and seek solace if they’re upset or just relax or enjoy the beauty of the garden,” Knotts explained. “It always carries very specific messages through signs and things about equality and the value of every person. They almost always create either a video or original music. We’ve actually done a number of original videos that are then shown throughout the school class by class.”
Videos also feature prominently in Antibullying Through The Arts, another program supported by Our Fund.
“We began that with big assemblies, which was pre-pandemic,” Knotts recalled. “That has morphed into working more with videos and we have our own YouTube channel. We get schools to use our videos and share them, and that way our reach expands.”
By offering these programs to young children, the Humanity Project aims to reach those future members of the LGBTQA+ community who either are not aware of their feelings or who don’t have a welcoming home environment.
“We always have our kids repeat the words, ‘I am somebody,’ which comes from the civil rights movement,” Knotts said. “We have them understand that it’s only people who feel like nobody who treat others that way. Those who really feel like they are somebody of value always treat others that way. It just flows naturally. That’s our real core value.”
The Art of Community
Like many of you, I learned as a child to play with my hands to the rhyme, “Here’s the church and here’s the steeple. Open the doors and see all the people.”
The Humanity Project is teaching youngsters more meaningful fingerplay to the chant, “Bullying hurts everyone in schools and it takes everyone to stop it.” As shown on its YouTube channel, one hand makes a bullying fist as the other open hand waves its happy fingers. These fingers, or students, come together to engulf the fist until the fingers of both hands joyfully intertwine.
In this series, we focus on the Our Fund Foundation grantees that are truly hands on in our community doing vital work. We invite you to extend your hands in service by supporting an organization that speaks to your passion with your time, talents and donations.
David Jobin
President & CEO
