But when one of those students, Thalia White, and some friends brought the idea of making the butterflies to Live Oak School (CA) last August, it grew into a much bigger gesture by students to draw attention to the estimated 70,000 children that are being held in detention centers at the US-Mexico border.
With the help of school librarians, Thalia and other students explained the project in classrooms and school assemblies. That fall, students created more than 2,000 brightly colored butterflies that were hung from four bicycle wheels in a second-floor hallway at the school. They are part of some 50,000 paper butterflies that Bay Area students have created as part of a project called The Butterfly Effect: Migration is Beautiful. The butterflies are then sent to legislators to make them aware of the issue.
Thalia is also raising awareness in Washington, DC, and demanding action to end child detention at the border. She contacted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who agreed to attend a news conference with Thalia and other congressional leaders later this year.
Thalia was planning a trip to the Mexican border in June to meet some of the young people in hopes of giving them a different impression of Americans and to provide them with medical and hygiene supplies.
Thalia White created a butterfly project to draw attention to the plight of young people in detention centers at the US-Mexico border.
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