A Promise to Annie and Clover
Afrika Afeni Mills, author of Open Windows, Open Minds: Developing Antiracist, Pro-Human Students
The Other Side, a picture book brilliantly written by Jacqueline Woodson and beautifully illustrated by E.B. White, tells the story of Annie and Clover — two young girls who are racially different, and find a way to resist the societal rules that attempt to keep them from playing together. We as a society have so much, still, to learn from them. We, the resisters, builders, and freedom dreamers, make this promise to Annie and Clover and invite anyone else who is compelled by their example to join us.
Annie and Clover
Precious ones
The world you imagined for us
Is a life-giving
wonder-filled space
Where there is
Music and dancing
Playing and laughter
Joy and gathering
Curiosity
Peace
And so much delight
You saw the fence between your homes
and said,
“This is not what trees are for . . .”
These limbs are for sitting
And shade
For climbing
And nourishment
For swinging
And shelter
For a never-ending table
Where all can sit
and belong
Some would call you brave
But what we really see in you
Is a refusal to be separated
From your human family
And an unwillingness to allow
Anything to block the flow of love
So we’ll tear down the fences and walls
And we’ll build that table
Long enough for everyone
To sit
And feast
To Behold
And Be held
To enjoy one another
Annie and Clover
You showed us a better way
So with brown and alabaster
tan and honey
caramel and sand
sienna and porcelain
auburn and peach
mocha and ivory
pinkies locked
We make this promise to you.
You shine light into darkness.
May it be so with us.
