Lawrence Middle School invites Wé McDonald to speak on bullying

To address bullying and its effects on mental health, Lawrence Middle School invited singer, dancer, author and “The Voice” finalist Wé McDonald to its  “Stomp Out Hate” assembly Dec. 20.

McDonald, 23, was a finalist on the NBC show in 2016, but years earlier, she had been a 12-year-old middle school student who had to overcome bullying. She was teased for her speaking voice and her appearance.

“I didn’t look like anybody there,” McDonald told the seventh-grade students, referring to her school in New York City. “Everyone was smaller, had straight hair and all looked similar. Here I am, who had big, curly hair, glasses, acne and chubby.”

She said she found ways to fit in with the crowd, such as purchasing clothing her classmates would wear, and straightening her hair. She noticed how her classmates respected her because of the change in her hair, but, McDonald said, she continued to be humiliated by her teachers, with one saying, “Wow, class, look at Wé, doesn’t she look so much better?”

Her speaking voice was high-pitched, but when she had a microphone in her hand and sang, she sounded like a different person. She persuaded her father, Varleton McDonald, to sign her up for music classes after school at the Harlem School of the Arts. She took classes in opera, musical theory, jazz, pop and soul. By age 16, she was singing at the Apollo Theater, going up against other up-and-coming singers.

One day in 2016, when she was 17, her father, who would become her manager, signed her up to audition for “The Voice.” During her blind audition, when the judges had their chairs turned away from McDonald as she sang, she made an impression on them. One of the judges was singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, whom McDonald chose as her coach. She ultimately finished in third place in Season 11 of the show.

Middle school Principal Willis Perry thanked school psychologist Michael Amorgianos, who had encouraged Perry to invite McDonald to speak with students since last year.

“A shout-out goes to Mr. A, who last year tried to make this presentation happen, and put it in place,” Perry said. “Every time I turned around, he was at my door, saying ‘We need to get Wé McDonald here, and it’s prefect for what we’re doing here in Lawrence Middle School.’”

Amorgianos explained that McDonald’s presentation was specifically targeted for the seventh-graders, to help ease their transition from elementary to middle school. In the Lawrence School District sixth grade is part of the elementary school.

McDonald was invited to tell her story with the hope of inspiring the students. She chatted with them, asked if they had ever been bullied — or had been a bully — and listened to those who spoke up.

Before the assembly, students in ELA classes read her book, “The Little Girl with the Big Voice,” which recounts her struggles.

“We’ve been responsible in going to schools around the nation,” Varleton McDonald said. “We talk about this book because it describes certain feelings that she had gone through when she was bullied, and how she overcame the challenges.”

Before visiting Lawrence, the McDonalds, who live in Paterson, New Jersey, were in Los Angeles.

The students showcased posters they had created after reading McDonald’s book, setting them up in the front of the auditorium for her to see. They highlighted the importance of avoiding bullying behavior because of the harm it does. One poster, which read simply, “Donut bully” had a drawing of a donut and a crossed-out circle in the middle.