Sublime

creator of the Smithsonian Museum’s “Programs in Black Culture,” and one of the leading authorities on Black American music culture,

It is very hard to challenge a student who arrives in class feeling endangered.

When I was your age the only people I knew were black, and all of them were powerfully, adamantly, dangerously afraid. I had seen this fear all my young life, though I had not always recognized it as such.

THIS IS YOUR PROMPT: Write about a teacher, cataloging what you remember (good, bad, and otherwise) and how you saw them as a child. Then write about them as the student of life you are today.

Mary didn’t teach civics or current events. She taught writing. Advanced Placement English, to be precise.