In January 2020 Papa K and I were so excited to bring books to life with Ms. Gwendolyn Poindexter’s sixth grade class at Donelson Middle School. We hoped this was the beginning of something new and grand, but then COVID happened. Although March marked our last in-person visits, we have great hopes for 2022.
Come walk down memory lane with me to see how we closed out the 2020 school year. You will be amazed.
From January to March, when I still had purple hair from celebrating my 69th birthday in December 2019, we learned a lot and brought a couple of books to life. The first-class meeting was great! The students were highly motivated and full of energy.
We learned that many of the boys aspired to become professional athletes. I just happened to have a copy of Between the Lines by Ernie Barnes in my book bag. Ernie Barnes was a professional football player, but his true passion was art and painting. This gave us an opportunity to speak truth to power; many dreams of becoming a professional athlete but few are chosen. We talked about the importance of having a plan B, such as going to college or trade school.
1. Can you guess the name of this Ernie Barnes art piece?
2. On what 1976 sitcom was this artwork featured?
3. Whose album cover was this artwork?
(Answers below)
The students were in awe of the Kennedy Compound located in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. They pulled out their maps to locate the area.
The book drew us in with words like leader and hero. Papa K and I stopped to discuss heroes. We asked the students to list some of their heroes or individuals that are perceived by others as a hero. One name rang out: Rosa Parks. This moved me to create a teachable moment by introducing Claudette Colvin, the teen girl who was jailed because she refused to give up her sit nine months before Rosa Parks. The students had never heard of Claudette Colvin. We challenged the students to visit the school library and check out the book entitled Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice written by National Award Book recipient Phillip Hoose, which we would continue looking at after completing A Time to Act.
On the next visit the students were eager to get started because they had been promised a tea party with crumpets. The students learned that JFK’s mom and sister hosted tea parties to help raise money for his bid for Congress. Before the tea party we completed the book with the students help. They role played as JFK, Dr. King, Coretta Scott King, Jackie Robinson, and Neil Armstrong.
The students learned about sit-ins, the letter Dr. King wrote from the Birmingham Jail, why activism is necessary, and the important role that President Lyndon Johnson played when he signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
At the conclusion of the session, two of the students showed us that they found copies of Phillip Hoose’s book about Claudette Colvin in the library. We were thrilled. We asked them to read and learn about Ms. Colvin’s story and prepare to share with the class on our next visit.
At the third and final meeting we met in the library for the Claudette Colvin book review presentation. Pictured are the two students who rushed to get the only copies of the book housed in the library. They were awarded with a Better B excellence certificate for their very thorough presentation.
At the third and final meeting we met in the library for the Claudette Colvin book review presentation. Pictured are the two students who rushed to get the only copies of the book housed in the library. They were awarded with a Better B excellence certificate for their very thorough presentation.
Sampling tea and crumpets was our last session. One of our biggest regrets is that we did not have an opportunity to finish our sessions with the students due to the pandemic.
The boys wanted demitasse cups, but we told them since the Kennedy tea parties were for ladies only that they would have to drink their tea from a cup. We all had a big laugh.
Trivia answers:
(1) Can you guess the name of this Ernie Barnes art piece? Sugar Shack (2) On what 1976 sitcom was this artwork featured? Norman Lear’s Good Times. (3) Whose album cover was this artwork? Marvin Gaye, for the album I Want You.