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NY GIRL DRAWS SUPPORT FOLLOWING WHITE NATIONALISM POEM: Seven-year-old draws heat comparing Christopher Columbus to a pirate.
*Seven-year-old Autum Ashante has a bunch of white folks up in arms and a number of black leaders defending her right to free speech after reciting a poem that compares Christopher Columbus and Charles Darwin to pirates and vampires.
On Feb. 28, the youngster read her poem, “White Nationalism Put U In Bondage,” at two high schools in New York City. She caps each perforamnce by asking students to stand and recite the "Black Child's Pledge," an oath of responsibility and black pride.
During the “Pledge” portion read at a Peekskill High School assembly, white students standing with black students were told by Autum to sit down, prompting the school district's superintendent to send recorded messages to parents of its 3,000 students apologizing to anyone who was offended.
"Someone decided to call parents and apologize," barked Councilman Charles Barron, a former Black Panther who stood on the City Hall steps with Ashante Tuesday (March 14) to speak out in her defense. "Some are talking about banning her from speaking in the school system. You don't have to agree with everything we say, but we have a right to say it. We are very, very proud of you, Autum."
Judith Johnson, the Peekskill superintendent, said Ashante has not been banned from speaking in the district again, stating, "Never, ever would we do something like that. But telling white kids you can't recite the pledge and to sit down - in a multicultural district you can't do that."
Ashante is homeschooled with a curriculum by the Black Homeschoolers Association, said her father, Batin Ashante, of Mount Vernon. The aspiring actress and poet recited her poem before the small crowd of well-wishers, Barron staff members and reporters at City Hall, drawing responses of "Tell it!" and "Hallelujah!" reports AP.
Barron said the girl’s 162-word poem was all about "peace, power and pride about her heritage." He praised her for being "brave" and "outspoken in telling the truth,"
During a question and answer session, Ashante told one reporter to use the term "African" instead of "African-American." She also said she wrote the poem herself, receiving help from her dad only with “spelling and pronunciation.”
When asked how she felt about some white students and parents being upset, she replied: "I feel bad, but I know it was the right thing to do."
Later Tuesday, Ashante was scheduled to appear at an event with Al Sharpton.
