GREENSBORO, N.C. -- It's a remake of a hit 80s music video "We Are The World," but the words still ring true today.
"We have so many people in transition right now," said Assistant Principal Tori Brasher. "Not knowing what's going to happen from day to day and they need to know that regardless of what happens, we're going to be there for them."
That's the reason Dudley High School Principal Lise Timmons-McLaughlin decided this video was just what her school needed.
"I felt that music always does the job," she said. "And a song like we are the world had a variety of people or celebrities in the video. And to our school, we are the world. And so I thought that we could put our celebrities in and put costumes on to make sure that we represented the world here at Dudley."
Assistant Principal Dwayne Washington was responsible for getting it all together.
He says they "were thinking about just lifting spirits. That was the biggest thing. We knew we were coming into a tough situation. People were coming into the buildings, you're coming into the building, people feeling uncomfortable, and we wanted to do something that would bring everybody together and make people feel good."
Career Counselor Bonita Hargett wasn't in the video but says it was perfect.
"Dudley is always about doing something that nobody else is doing, you know? Against all odds. We're going to stand out no matter what," Hargett said.
It involved more than 20 staff members. Some who, because of the pandemic, had not really had the chance to get to know their coworkers. Like first-time teacher Neha Muraly.
"The most difficult part about coming into this school, during this virtual time is because I haven't ever gotten to see all the stuff once I've gotten to really interact with them as much as I would've liked to," she said. "Everybody's so welcoming here."
It also featured some of the outreach the staff did when students were fully virtual. Much of that was coordinated by counselor Ann Reader.
"We were coming together as a family at Dudley High School to heal our families and our communities," Reader said.
Because, according to Social Studies teacher Sharnetta Roseborough, family is what Dudley is all about.
"The foundation of Dudley is family," she said. "Like there's nobody here that doesn't know somebody else or is possibly even related to someone else. So I agree with you, those words of unity, those words of just genuine love are what Dudley represents all the time."
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