Anita Chase

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.’ birthday, we are looking back at a powerful experience our students had earlier this year listening to the personal story of Ms. Anita Chase. Anita Chase is an educator, educational administrator, and activist who at the age of 9, was one of the first Black students to integrate the Boston Public Schools. Her mother was actively involved in the planning and protesting of racist policies that kept the Boston schools segregated. She helped organize a march at which Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in support of their work. We were honored to hear Ms. Chase share her story and her passion for activism with PJA 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students. 

Ms. Chase’s presentation of her experience as a young child and her lifelong pursuit of racial justice inspired our 6th Grade Humanities class to write this collective voice poem, with 1-2 lines contributed by each student. The prompt was a reminder that, as part of her slide deck, Ms. Chase had used the frame of "I am..." to share the many facets of her life as an activist. Students were asked to remember specifics she had shared and what their take-aways were and to frame those recollections as a "You are..." poem.
 

For Anita Chase, Justice Warrior

~ With Gratitude from PJA’s 6th graders

 

You are a living story 

 

You are a teacher of the past

 

If only the people who hurt you could see your shining light from within

 

You are a teacher of truth about what happened

 

You were scared, but now you stand up

 

You believe in yourself

 

You were  a beautiful child, not to be harmed by weapons made from water

 

You are ready for anything

 

You share what is right and don’t stop fighting until you overcome

 

Your brown eyes tell a story to us all 

 

You are a speaker for justice

 

You were a determined fourth grader in Buster Brown shoes

 

You are the one that still stands

 

We can all hear your activism in your strong voice 

 

You are smart and wise

 

You are a woman who has worked her whole life for peace and justice 

 

You are an activist with a big purpose 

 

You have a burning heart made to protest your rights

 

You are determined to make things right

 

You bring light to the darkness

 

You are a history-maker

 

You are a free bird, soaring through the sky

 

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