Controversial Poem Puts 7-year-old on Hot Seat

[Freelance Superhero]

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_072172005.html

(CBS) PEEKSKILL A controversial poem, recited by a 7-year-old prodigy, is stirring up controversy in a Westchester school district. In it, the child compares Charles Darwin and Christopher Columbus to vampires and pirates, who robbed blacks of their human rights.

Autum Ashante performed at the African burial ground in Manhattan and at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Her bedroom is decorated with photos reminiscent of the Civil Rights movement. Framed proclamations and awards document the many accomplishments of this aspiring actress and poet.

"They took the black woman, with the black man weak. Made to watch as they changed the paradigm of our village," read Ashante.

But when Ashante of Stamford recited this poem during a Black History Month event at Peekskill Middle School, the home-schooled child prodigy would spark a firestorm of controversy.

�You know, when the ancestors take over you just can't stop them when they do something. And I said, this ain't for white people, and they started walking out," Ashante said.

Ashante said her poem entitled, "White Nationalism Put You In Bondage," was meant to instill pride, not intended to offend.

School officials apparently found Ashante's poem so offensive, it prompted them to send a recorded phone message home to hundreds of parents, apologizing for the child's visit.

It was the second time Ashante visited the school. The invitation was sent out by music teacher Mel Bolden, who stated, "Perhaps we should've had a lesson plan in advance to give them a heads up of what she'd be talking about, to explain it a little better."

Added Batin Ashante, the girl's father, "She's not a racist. She's a literalist and she's true."

True to what she believes in, no matter the audience.
-----

all viewpoints aside, she seems like one hella smart 7-year-old...

[riskykougra]

Well I hope instead of stifling this young girl her visions and ideas are nurtured so when she is an adult she could turn out to make a huge difference in a world that, in my opinion, is still full of racism from all nationalities. She could be quite an advocate when she is older and I hope they dont make her feel like she has somehow evoked a huge wrong for expressing her views. They may not have agreed with everything she said or maybe how she said it but she is only 7 and will learn to express herself in a way where hopefully "mature" people wont feel the need to walk out.

[welfareloser]

whatever the poem was, the girl isn't the one that should be in the hotseat. either it was well-explained or not, either it was appropriate for the occasion and audience or not. if it was a poor choice, somebody needs to talk to the numbnuts who set up the event, not the 7-year-old. i know i've scratched my head a couple of times over difficult/controversial concepts that were introduced to my preschooler or kindergartener that were simply way over his head, poorly explained, and i had some damage control to do when he got home so he didn't stay up all night worrying. i'd imagine that when talking to 11-to-13-year-olds about racism, taking the "whitey was WRONG!" approach is simply going to alienate the white kids... it's an age of over-self-consciousness and over-sensitivity. a 7-year-old probably isn't capable of the sensitive approach necessary for meaningful learning for kids that age. who knows what context the kids were given...

[nickel]

you know, child prodigy or not, if a child were to get up there while reciting a poem he/she authored and say to the audience, "this ain't for black people," then it's going to be controversial just the same.

i think she sounds like an extremely intelligent and insightful being, but hopefully she receives proper guidance along the way.

[cheapie]

[welfareloser]

add another well said.

i'd be willing to bet the poem was awesome, but if you're gonna alienate your audience before you even get to it...

why in the world does stuff like this happen? how hard is it to put some thought into how stuff should be presented to middle schoolers... WHEN THAT'S THE ONE AND ONLY JOB YOU GET PAID TO DO?!?!?!?!? stupid school administrators...

[cadetevon]

how hard is it to put some thought into how stuff should be presented to middle schoolers... WHEN THAT'S THE ONE AND ONLY JOB YOU GET PAID TO DO?!?!?!?!? stupid school administrators...

And yet this sort of thing happens all.the.time. Take just one hour to think about the event, who will be attending, when it is to occur etc. THEN decide how to go about presenting it, if at all.

[ufcrusher]

Not to poke fun but its like the bad comic on the apprentice. Completely inappropriate for the event.

Back on point and I dont mean to offend anyone, but to instill that much anger into a 7 year old is completely wrong. There is a difference between an adult who had first hand experience with racism and telling a child that YOU will be held down. If you force them to have an expectancy that they will be mistreated/held down, then I believe they will conclude that is what is happening even when its not.

For example, imagine when this "prodigy" is ready to get into college. She sends in her applications and Harvard turns her down because she was homeschooled for her entire life and thus lacked the interpersonal skills necessary to succeed. Assume that Harvard always turns down ALL applicants who have not been socialized. This girl would likely jump to the assumption that she was being precluded because of her race...which wasnt the case.

Just to clarify, in no way am I saying, "This happened in the past so forget it." That isnt the way of the world and is not how I operate, nor how others should operate. To do so would be in fact forgetting the attrocities that occured and invites them to happen again. I am just saying that things need to be looked at in a current context, rather than a historical one.

[ArkiStan]

...to instill that much anger into a 7 year old is completely wrong. There is a difference between an adult who had first hand experience with racism and telling a child that YOU will be held down...

That along with the liberal use of "ain't" tells me she could be being home-schooled in a better home.

[gwilks98]

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_072172005.html

Ashante said her poem entitled, "White Nationalism Put You In Bondage," was meant to instill pride, not intended to offend.

It's funny how I've heard this before...
http://forums.gotapex.com/showthread.php?t=92990

Methinks we have another case of a kid being heavily influenced by a parental figure. While I feel there is nothing wrong with instilling pride in who you are, if it was about pride, the statement "this aint for white people" wouldn't have been necessary. and I quote:

Complaints from shocked students and parents led to a tape-recorded apology sent to all parents apologizing for the performance. Autum's father condemned white district officials as "racist crackers."

This is dangerously close to being a double standard:

"White Nationalism Put U In Bondage"
White nationalism is what put you in bondage
Pirate and vampires like Columbus, Morgan, and Darwin
Drank the blood of the sheep, trampled all over them with
Steel, tricks and deceit.
Nothing has changed take a look in our streets
The miseducation of she and Hegro -- leaves you on your knee2grow
Black lands taken from your hands, by vampires with no remorse
They took the gold, the wisdom and all of the storytellers
They took the black women, with the black man weak
Made to watch as they changed the paradigm
Of our village
They killed the blind, they killed the lazy, they went
So far as to kill the unborn baby
Yeah White nationalism is what put you in bondage
Pirates and vampires like Columbus, Morgan, and Darwin
They drank the blood of the sheep, trampled all over them with
Steel laden feet, throw in the tricks alcohol and deceit.
Nothing has changed take a look at our streets.

Take a look at this:
http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/...422r_page2.htm

Autum also commanded white students to remain seated as she led black students in reciting the "Black Child's Pledge," by Black Panther Shirley Williams, which reads in part:
I pledge allegiance to my Black People.
I pledge to develop my mind and body to the greatest extent possible.
I will learn all that I can in order to give my best to my People in their struggle for liberation.
... I will discipline myself to direct my energies thoughtfully and constructively rather than wasting them in idle hatred.
I will train myself never to hurt or allow others to harm my Black brothers and sisters ...
These principles I pledge to practice daily and to teach them to others in order to unite my People.

[welfareloser]

eek. activism is great, but i cringe when small children are indoctrinated too much/too early. i don't like seeing little kids waving fists and shouting at rallies. it's so unhealthy for so many reasons. they're simply not capable of processing certain abstractions and complexities. all they learn is to hate the "others," whether the others be pro-lifers, pro-choicers, other races, religions, etc, and something that's made a part of you so early is pretty much impossible to ever examine critically and deal with properly as an adult.

it's a pretty good bet my kindergartener will eventually turn out to be a liberal, but i've sure as sh** never badmouthed the president to him, for example. and i've taught him that some families have one parent, or a mom and a dad, or two moms or two dads, but i haven't said anything to him about people who are opposed to gay rights and what to think about them. t'ain't right.

[Memo]

Sounds like some racist bull**** to me. This isn't, excuse me, ain't a child prodigy. This sounds like a racist parent's guinea pig.

[gwilks98]

BTW...where the hell does she get off saying Darwin was a predator of the black race? I can understand Columbus, but I am hard pressed to find evidence about Darwin oppressing anyone.

It's sad that many people after him took his work and put horrible spins on it. It seems to have really sullied his name.

http://home.att.net/~troybritain/art...in_on_race.htm

[nickel]

Sounds like some racist bull**** to me. This isn't, excuse me, ain't a child prodigy. This sounds like a racist parent's guinea pig.

sadly, this does seem true. they have her going to rallies and speaking for them, and people most likely see it as cute that a child so young is so outspoken.

[ShawnLee]

Hmm... I don't see how this is different from Prussian Blue. But maybe it's just me.

[eSDee]

That's a pretty good poem I'm impressed!

[LPMiller]

Hmm... I don't see how this is different from Prussian Blue. But maybe it's just me.

yeah I agree.

[eSDee]

I didn't think it was that bad, but I guess I could see how it could feel that offensive. I had to google it because I didn't remember who Prussian Blue was. Them little girls are nuts. I guess I can see the parallel.

[gwilks98]

I didn't think it was that bad, but I guess I could see how it could feel that offensive. I had to google it because I didn't remember who Prussian Blue was. Them little girls are nuts. I guess I can see the parallel.

Read the link in my post about to the other GA topic.

[Memo]

Hmm... I don't see how this is different from Prussian Blue. But maybe it's just me.

That's exactly what I was thinking of when I read it. I just lookd back and saw the link to the article about them in a prior post too.

[welfareloser]

it is a good poem. really good. and every word of it is true (allowing "darwin" to stand for "certain later darwinists," which is well within the bounds of artistic license ) but again, context is everything. there is absolutely room for anger in the big picture... but i think this little girl got all the anger instilled in her, and not much of the big picture.

[Dem0072]

I'd like to think for someone trying to make any statement or express any feelings of civil liberties or freedom, they would make it a point to express all angles of the situation.

Instead of saying white people hold you in bondage, which I myself find offensive, she could have said "The world, and this country, 150 years ago suffered as a people, a whole people, a culture divided by what seemed to be racial inequality, but throuout the times, we have united as one and accepted one another, and through this, we have learned much, in culture and as friends with one another, together as a people in a society, to coexist and live in this world to make it a better place for all, and a richer lifestyle for all."

But I don't like someone, especially someone who has hardly learned half of everything about the civil war era, and the civil rights movement, generalizing my race, as people who restrict others, nor do I like it when statistics are used to make white people look horrible because of supposed "crime rates", when the numbers are higher because the population is higher, the percentage comparison is ignored, which makes it a bias compairison.

But shes 7, so I am all for giving her a chance.

I just hope that in her future poems of civil liberties she spend more time discussing freedoms and comming together in unity, as a whole people and less time discussing how grooling her semi-recent ancestors had it supposively due to the "white race", when racism in itself is as old as time, as is slavery.

I have a rule & its to be taken in offense by no one, its out of fairness for every race in existance. I say it to mostly everyone who even thinks of calling me a racist or using race as a base of personal attack against me - I say "We're either equal, or I'm better than you." What I mean by this, is obviously if being a co-equal standing people, should this not be enough for someone, then I show the better person, when racial equality is good enough for me.

But like I say, she's 7, I wish her the best in bringing people together, not dividing them.

[riskykougra]

Sounds like some racist bull**** to me. This isn't, excuse me, ain't a child prodigy. This sounds like a racist parent's guinea pig.

When I wrote how I hoped they were nurture her I hadnt realized what she was saying now I kinda have to agree with memo...but hopefully she will be able to find a happy inbetween place when she is old enough to understand what she is even saying.

[Burzhui]

Sounds like some racist bull**** to me. This isn't, excuse me, ain't a child prodigy. This sounds like a racist parent's guinea pig.

i saw an interview with her about a week ago, and she came off exactly as that.

[Dem0072]

Kinda reminds me about that jerk using his son or daughter as an excuse for not saying under god in the pledge at school.

Personally, as a child in school I was more concerned about making a secret escape route out of that He**hole than I was saying a few sentances infront of a flag.

Shoot I'd rather glue my hand to my chest than I would gluing some stupid pink elephant to a piece of paper. I'm one of the kids that just didn't take part & stayed in his own classroom section, trying to hold on to dear sweet dignity.

Like I say. I wish her the best in learning about civil rights & how america as a whole decided that slavery wasn't an ideal option.

[AlwayzMarel]

Prussian Blue back in the news, Check out their t-shirts!! OMG!

http://www.bakersfield.com/619/story/42316.html