The final project for fifth grade was to choose someone they had learned about during the year and create a project that reflected how that person's story inspired the legacy they wanted to leave. One boy, the one I wrote about here, wanted to write poems. We worked together to find and shape his thoughts. On graduation day he posed for a photo for the cover of his project. Looking at the finished work, I said to him, "You have the soul of a poet. This is beautiful. Do you remember when I talked to you about taking care of your story? You have done such a good job of that all spring. I hope you are so proud of you, I sure am."
I wish you could have seen the bursting glow coming out of him.
If I did nothing else this school year, this moment was enough.
My Legacy by J.
Many people had to go through the pain of being judged by their skin color
By being called a name that they weren’t
Or a name they would not like to be called
By being treated differently with non-worth
Many people thought that this pain wasn’t right
It wasn’t fair
It wasn’t agreed on
So they tried to make a change
They found many ways to change the way they were feeling
By making new ideas to change people’s words
By fighting for their rights
Because everybody has the right to be treated the same
Many people would love to have those rights
Jackie Robinson was a strong African American hero
Who many people believed in
Who was the first African American male to be in major league baseball
Jackie Robinson had a hard time
Getting along in the major leagues
Playing on a baseball field with a crowd saying such mean things to him
Being treated like garbage
Jackie Robinson discovered a way
To ignore the crowd
To find a friend on his team
Someone who wouldn’t hide from him or think he’s an animal
Jackie Robinson was
As determined
As strong
As smart
As a tiger
J. is a strong African American
Who is athletic
Who is smart
And who is respected
J. had a hard time at
Making new friends
Hearing bad things about his skin color
And having people judge him by his looks
J. discovered a way
To go outside
To overcome hatred
And try to imagine
J. is
As funny as a clown
As smart as an engineer
And as strong as a body builder
J. is a hero like Jackie Robinson
