by Ernie McCray
Oh, I so enjoyed
sharing my experiences
with you
bright young people
as an 84-year-old Black man
who has
sat at the back of the bus
and put up with
a whole lot of other stuff
and, somehow in all the
huffing and puffing
against such,
managed to
keep the love in me
untouched.
How you took my story in
made me feel as though
I was gently
floating in
the warm waters of hope
as I could tell
you understood
the essence of Black History
by the questions you asked,
by the statements you made,
by the tones of your voices,
by the expressions on your faces,
and my heart rejoices
in just knowing
that you bought in
to the notion
I most wanted
you to take away
from what I had to say,
that none of us can change
what happened
way back when,
but we owe it to ourselves
as loving and caring human beings
to not let anything
like what happened in our nation’s past
ever happen again.
Never!
It was an honor to meet you
and see a school
that I helped create
still full of life and curiosity
with smiles
and good feelings
radiating in the air,
a tone that’s so conducive to learning
anywhere.
That was what we aimed for
at the very start.
So, I have a place for all of you
in a special part
of my heart.
The spirit of John Muir Alternative School
now lives on at
John Muir Language Academy.
Que Viva!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Lovely! Marvelous, as always, Ernie reminding us, thru his beautiful poetry, of the worthwhile “take aways” in the greater schemes of historical events. :-)
Oh, how proud Ms. Daniels would be of her star 4th Grade pupil, Ernie (Charles) McCray, who, at 84, is still excelling in life! Keep on truckin’, mi querido amigo!
Such a beautiful and loving exchange, put into words that we all feel but may not have the ability to express.
Thank you once again for expressing what life and love can look like.
VIVA HERMANO!
A wonderful tribute to the remarkable staying power of an unusual San Diego public school, the John Muir Alternative School, now aka the John Muir Language Academy.