School
Born and raised in the harder South
Some might say with a silver spoon in my mouth
I don’t know I just had what my mother gave me
Father left at five she was the only one left to raise me
A strong black woman graduated high school at sixteen
Went to college and earned a degree from an Ivy League
First of her kind though her mother didn’t make it as far
Because when she was in school education had lowered the bar
My mother always told me to get an education
And don’t involve myself in idle recreation
She said those before me didn’t have as much
They weren’t allowed to read and a book they couldn’t touch
She told me to be grateful for the school I got to attend
Because back in the day going to school meant walking miles on end
She talked of schools with one classroom and no air
Black kids without textbooks the system wasn’t close to fair
Girls bombed in churches and beaten by forces but life is better today
We’re free to learn, free to read, and say what we want to say
One of few blacks in a sea of all white
But at least they let me learn; at least they treat me right
We’ve come a long way from those harsh days in the past
But there’s still more to do if we want this peace to last
I’m grateful to have been raised in a more accepting generation
That no longer prohibits learning and no longer allows segregation
Education shouldn’t be a privilege but a God given right
And though we’ve made progress the end is still not in sight
As long as there is color racism will always exist
However we need to learn to look past it and co-exist
Reflection on Poem
For my assignment on the Penn Center I chose to write a poem. I felt that the trip was about education for blacks in the past and the start of all black schools. Given that the Penn Center was originally a school I chose to write about education in my poem. I also chose to talk about what my mother used to tell me when I was younger and entering first grade. She and my grandmother always used to talk to me about what life was like for black children and black people before me. They always told me to be grateful for what I have and to not take my education for granted. The Penn School came before my mother was born, but I felt that her educational history and my grandmothers were relevant to the topic. My grandmother grew up in the segregation era and my mother did not; however, my mother still dealt with racism when she in school. She dealt with it by doing her best and giving her all in school. She ended up making better grades than her classmates and graduated high school at sixteen. Talking about my mother’s educational background reminded me of another reading that we read in class earlier in the semester. In that particular reading the writer dealt with his classmates the same way. Instead of being ashamed of being black he worked at his full potential and gave his all, which resulted in him receiving better grades on his exams. He received better grades than his classmates. Visiting the Penn Center and learning about its origin made me feel very privileged for the education and the freedom that I’ve been afforded. I thought the buildings were peacefully designed and efficient, but I felt the location was very rural. I concluded my poem by talking about the lack of equality in our society and how things are much different now than how they were in the past but there is still much work to be done.
