Nonprofit held back-to-school event
Except: As kids were busy getting their face painted, or receiving free bookbags, or eating the tasty hot dogs and hamburgers, celebrating the beginning of a new school year, the Lion of Judah Enterprises’ Back to School Bash, unbeknownst to most at the event, also celebrated another cause.
People with Down syndrome.
The Aug. 23 event brought out more than 150 people to Dinwiddie Street, across from the police station in the Hill District. But the entire reason for the nonprofit Lion of Judah Enterprises’ existence is to celebrate those of color with Down syndrome. Judah is a now-13-year-old boy, a Greenfield resident, who’s steadily growing and learning, who spent much of Saturday, Aug. 23, jumping around, playing with the other kids and teens at the event. But Judah, unlike the other youth who were there, suffers from Down syndrome.
Lion of Judah Enterprises was founded by Judah’s mother, Teaira Collins, in 2018. It later became an official 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.
While Judah, his mother and his father are Black, there is no evidence that African Americans are diagnosed with Down syndrome at any higher rate than other ethnicities. Most scientific experts say that if anything, African Americans are among the least to be diagnosed with Down syndrome of all ethnic groups in the U.S.
“Just because you have Down syndrome, you’re able to learn just like anybody else,” Collins told the Courier in an exclusive interview, Sept. 9. “It just takes more time, you have to have more patience (with the person) and you have to teach them. Kids with Down syndrome, they learn differently, through song, music, dance. It takes a lot of time, a lot of extra effort. But it should not be called ‘Down’ syndrome because there’s nothing ‘down’ about them.”