The College Fix

‘I see a vice president that looks like me’

You know, of course, what would happen if an elementary school teacher led children in a chant congratulating President Trump on reelection?

Principal Lakeasha Williams of Stanley Eugene Clark School in New York City (P.S. 399) recorded a teacher in one class leading her students in a series of call-and-response chants in support of Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

NowThis transcribed the recitation and said it’s a version of a poem from a 2017 book by Chicago-area poet Leslé Honoré. It goes:

Brown girl, brown girl, what do you see?
I see a vice president that looks like me
Brown girl, brown girl, what do you do?
I fought, I hoped, I spoke what was true
Brown girl, brown girl, what do you know?
That there are strong women who want me to grow
Brown girl, brown girl, what do you feel?
That #blackgirlmagic will help us all heal
Brown girl, brown girl, what do you see?
A world that sees my skin before it sees me
Brown girl, brown girl, whatcha gonna do?
March, fight and create till I make this world new
Brown girl, brown girl, how are you so strong?
Cuz I got Queens in my blood to help push me along

“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last- because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.” Vice President elect, Kamala Harris ❤️✊🏾

Brown girl, Brown girl what do you see… @KamalaHarris @JoeBiden pic.twitter.com/EbEzqRzbz4

— Lakeasha Williams (@LakeWill611) November 9, 2020

The recitation concludes with the children sticking up their arms: “Congratulations Kamala Harris!” The election results have not been certified, so referring to Harris as “vice president” and congratulating her is premature.

Also strange: why the teacher includes the final line about Queens, since the school is in Brooklyn. (The poem section of Honoré‘s website doesn’t include this poem to verify it’s referring to the New York City borough, as opposed to the casual use of “queens” to mean strong women.)

Williams posted the video on her personal Twitter account and on the school’s Facebook account (the status text for both is the same). Oddly, the video is not on the school’s Twitter account.

P.S. 399 is rated below average by nonprofit school rating service GreatSchools.org (though it misspells the school’s name).  Its students make average academic progress year-over-year but have lower test scores than the state average, and its disadvantaged students “may be falling behind other students in the state.”

MORE: University suspends professor for criticizing Kamala Harris on Twitter

IMAGE: Lakeasha Williams/Twitter

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