Safiya Henderson-Holmes, “Friendly Town #1”

UA 292-93.

Presenter: Lisa Runnels

Respondent: Dominique Corpus

Recorder: Andrea Dodd

Objective 1a:  The children are involuntary participants in the poem.

Objective 5a:  Henderson-Holmes uses the voice of the child narrator to let the reader “hear” the experience.

Objective 5f:  The counselor labels the children assigns the seats for them and never views them as people.  They are to be feared.

 

Henderson-Holmes uses “inner city” as an ethnic label.  She talks about the “forty-seven inner city tens” referring to her classmates and their ages.  In line 4-5 she uses the color “blueblack” and “brownbeige” to describe the different skin tones.  One class has 47 children noting the overcrowding later written about in lines 6 and 7.

The teacher lines the children up in 2’s to keep track of them.  In stanza 4 Henderson-Holmes writes about imaginary wings and this seems to be a reference to freedom.

The “inner city” children are not the only stereotypes in the poem.  Her description of the “friendly town” and even the school counselor is a stereotype of the “All American Girl.”

Henderson-Holmes uses color to make subtle statements about the children’s situation.  The red apple, white labels and the kids names written in blue are the colors of the American flag and freedom, but in this instance seem to be restrictions for the children of the inner city. 

Starting in stanza 8 she begins describing the children creating the feeling that no matter what the color of skin, kids are kids and act the same.  The school counselor has a preconceived idea about the children and the children know this so when Edward explodes the lunch bag she ducks for cover.

The poet closes the poem with a moment of longing for the girl.  She closes her eyes and “imagines” the dogs.

CLASS DISCUSSION

What is the reference of the teeth chasing the bus?

Student:  You can’t take the city out of the kids.

Student:  For teachers in ESL or bi-lingual classroom 39 is a very real number.

Student:  Harsh reality.

Student:  With this age teachers are idolized; their teachers are perfect.

Student:  It’s the difference of growing up in the city versus the country.

Respondent:  Students were of her peers and where they are now was not versus the friendly town they are going to.

Student:  What did you think of all the colors?

Student:  Symbolic of the rainbow of inner city kids.

Reader:  We are every color.

Student:  Gives and inventory of what was in the lunch bag.  White paper bags, red apples, blue name tags.  This is what all American children should eat.

Student:  If you give any children a bag they are going to pop it.  I think the teacher was scared of these children.

Teacher:  I liked the interpretation of the colors, especially the colors of the lunch.