A seven year-old spoken word prodigy has been banned from Peekskill School District in New York. Autum Ashante is a child poet who has performed several times at The Apollo and has had numerous television appearances. She is a critic’s favorite because despite her tender age her lyrics contain a social consciousness unbeknown to most.
After being invited to read her work “White Nationalism Put U in Bondage” for an audience of middle and high school students, Autumn is being accused of racism. Apparently the community was outraged because of Autum’s comparison of Morgan, Darwin and Columbus to a vampire. The school had to call and leave hundreds of apology messages for angry parents.
School officials have stated that they were unaware that her poem had such an aggressive tone and were worried that the students were too young for the material…I wonder what they expected from a poem with the words “white nationalism” in the title.
It’s funny that the words of a seven year-old are considered too aggressive for teenagers when we live in a world where you can blow off a man’s head in any standard video game. What about the age appropriate material, can that concern really be taken seriously? MTV exploits teenage sexuality on a daily basis, who do you think their target audience is?
Here is an excerpt from White Nationalism Put U In Bondage:
Black lands taken from your hands, by vampires with no remorse.
They took the gold, the wisdom and all the storytellers.
They took the black women, with the black man weak.
Made to watch as they changed the paradigm of our village.
Yeah white nationalism is what put you in bondage.
Pirates and vampires like Columbus, Morgan and Darwin.
Have you ever wondered why Latin American and African countries are so impoverished. Why is it that compared to Europe and the US these countries seem so prehistoric? If you don’t know, then research history. Europe and the US where built on the labor and sweat of Indigenous and African people. When the “discoverers” of the “New World” came, they sucked the land dry of gold and other precious metals and took them back to Europe. They enslaved the native people, at times decimathing entire populations like that of the Indigenous people of the Carribean area. Who is their voice now? Who calls for justice on their behalf? If we don’t remember the past we are doomed to repeat its failures. Autum and people like her won’t let that happen.
After she read her poem, Autum asked black students to take the Black Panther pledge, Black Child. The poem incites black youth to “direct their energies thoughtfully and constructivley rather then wasting them in idle hatred” as well as to train themselves not to hurt one another. She asked the black students to stand and the white students to sit while she recited Black Child.
I understand that maybe parents felt their kids were being left out based solely on their race, I can try to sympathize with them but I find their reaction hypocritical. There has always been racial discrimination in US schools but most react with a shrug of the shoulders…If it doesn’t affect me then I don’t care. The moment the roles reverse is when we hear an outcry - What?! Did she step out of her place?! I am not by any means justifying any type of racism…I am only asking you to do some comparing.
Minorities fought against segragated schools, public buildings, parks, movie theatres and so forth. This community is fighting a child who is asking her people to take pride in who they are.
In response to Autum’s poem, nationally syndicated radio host, Glenn Beck, responded: “You want to go back to Africa? I will personally purchase your airfare”, he then added, “but first you have to sign a contract that you will never return to the United States”. Thanks for proving her wrong Beck…keep in mind that this is a message he’s sending to a seven year-old. This is is the same man who at a different time was quoted asking his audience, “Is America as dumb as Nigeria?” If he can nationally broadcast such ass backward comments, why is her right of free speech being trampled?
Honestly…I don’t see how this poem is offensive. The men she called out were some of history’s worst “monsters”. If you don’t know that, you shouldn’t be angry…you should be embarrassed that a seven year old has a better grasp of history than you do.
Though, I don’t think Autum’s intent was to discriminate against anyone maybe it’s good thing it was percieved that way…people usually aren’t sympathetic to others circumstances until they experience it themselves. Let’s be honest…you’d have to be blind to deny that minority kids deal with this kind of discrimination on a daily basis. The difference is that you probably just turn your eye.
You can read more on the subject here
