If Sally Hemings was the Mother of America by Jack Ryan ‘22

Ruby Bridges The first to integrate schools, Six-years old, Needed guards to protect her for simply trying to break a mold If she was strong enough to go through it, to endure the insults and isolation, Surely we are strong enough to learn about it, to talk about it, to see that part of our nation.

Dig deeper

Jim Crow? Oh but that was 60 years ago, Yet we’re still fighting to get our voting rights protected And to ensure our right to protest is respected.

Black history month is needed, So that we don’t relive the past, So that the progress we’ve made will finally last.

Ignorance is a disease, So when it comes to black history, don’t be a sleeper Ignorance is a disease. Don’t be afraid to dig deeper.

If Sally Hemings was the Mother of America

by Jack Ryan ‘22

if Sally Hemings was the mother of America, men would not stand alone in the Declaration, but joined by two freeing words

and women whose lives toiled Monticello’s dirt casket could sit behind that sunrise in the golden chair and tap a velvet glove atop that brown Resolute.

if Sally Hemings was the mother of America, that dream deferred was answered as the White Lion sailed away and

teenagers in Mississippi walked home with bubble gum in their mouths and a whistle in their pockets.

little boys in Cleveland played with toys on playgrounds and

white men worshiped that cross beneath their collar

without hammering the nails into his brown palms.