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“O sing to the Lord a new song; for He has done marvellous things: His right hand and his holy arm has gotten him the victory.”
Psalm 98:1
The next morning I came down fully dressed, ready to cut a generous portion of Aunt Ruth’s cake and grab some cookies. My friends and I always shared what we all had during lunch. I was known for my cookies, chicken, or cones, thanks to Aunt Ruth. Bella was known for her puff puff, and Pam was known for her banana fritters. It was going to be a great day; so the birds said as they flew by my window. I didn’t know if it was the thought of a bicycle or the cake I was going to take to school that put me in such a cheerful mood. I was even whistling.
I was shocked to see my mother already dressed, holding her car keys as if she was going somewhere important. I greeted her cheerfully, and after her reply, I decided to satisfy my curiosity. ‘Mom?’ I asked carefully. The look on her face said, ‘Don’t tread on me.’
What had brought on this sudden mood?
‘Mom, can we crash together this night?’
It didn’t work. She drained the contents of her mug and looked at the clock.
‘Are you going somewhere?’
‘Marsha Lynne! Get your schoolbag and let’s go.’
‘School?’ I asked, confused, but Mom just made her way to the garage and I followed in tow.
When Mom said my name like that, I knew from experience that it was not the time to ask questions. I respected her space. That was one of her ways of letting me know that I should zip up my voice and let her be.
On arriving at the school, I got out of the car and started heading towards my classroom area, but to my surprise, rather than drive off and wish me all the usual sweet words, Mom called to me, stopping me in my tracks. ‘Wait. Stay with me. We’re going to the principal’s office together. I need to talk to Mr White.’
‘Mom, what did I do?’ I asked, shocked beyond belief.
‘You haven’t done anything, my darling. I was too angry to talk with you at home. Come back into the car. There is something I have to tell you.’
She had me really worried now. Was someone in the family dead?
As soon as I got into the car, she got straight to her point. ‘Can you remember what Grandma Olivia said when we went to the zoo on your fifth birthday?’
I thought for a moment. ‘I do, Mom, the day I was bullied off the playground swing by a white bully, right? But you have to be real quick, registration starts in ten minutes!’
‘I have let your teacher know that you might run a little late today.’
‘What?’
‘What did Grandma Olivia tell you when you turned five and has continued to tell you all through your growing years?’
‘She said bullies are just bullies who can only hurt me if I let them.’
‘And what did I tell you that time we read together from the Bible about the twelve spies Moses sent to check out the Promised Land?’
I was distracted momentarily as I heard the school bell ring for the usual class assembly and registration. I slumped backwards on my seat. I was late, but I had to co-operate to find out what Mom was about to tell me. I braced myself for the worst as I answered her question. ‘Mom, you said I should not mistake grasshoppers for giants in my life like ten of the spies did, because God was ordering my steps.’
‘Very good, Marsha, and what did you learn from Joshua and Caleb’s attitude to the giants they saw?’
‘I remember you said that Joshua and Caleb had not been intimidated by the giants because of their trust in God.’
She nodded. ‘Your answers encourage me, child. I am afraid, because I am going to speak to your principal about the way I felt you were treated. It is a fight that has to be fought, now or never. You might think that I’m not aware of what has been going on since you stepped into this school. Today is the day that I’m going to fight the prejudice and racist attitude you have endured for so long – but I am afraid. Your principal is like a giant, but I’m going to punch through that fear. Your principal and most of your teachers are giants disguised as grasshoppers. They have bullied you for too long. You don’t know how many times I have gone through your school bag while you slept and seen the terrible comments most of your teachers write in your book, or the low grades they give you that you do not deserve. But I knew that someday I would have to fight. When I told all your grandparents what had happened to you, they were shocked but not surprised, and Grandpa Samuel aged in an instant. They know that I’m having this meeting today with your principal, and they are all praying for us.’
Over the years, Mom had always warned me about looking at the ‘grasshoppers’ and thinking they were giants. I could see her on one occasion in my mind’s eye; me on her lap as she told me to never forget what Grandma Olivia told me...
Her voice broke through my thoughts. ‘Principal White is a giant, and we are going to pray to God for His favour, wisdom, and strength, and ask that justice be done. I do not know what the outcome will be, Marsha, for you or for me. Please be strong, because—’
I took over. ‘—Greater is He in us than they that are in the world.’
Mom gave me a peck on the cheek and together we recited the Lord’s Prayer before heading for the principal’s office. I dared not voice my thoughts that she was making a mountain out of a molehill. Worse things happened to other pupils in my class and other classes. It was accepted as a normal way of life for us all at Hillary.
As we walked from the car park to the administration block, I realised that I was not seeing my school with the eyes of an everyday pupil but as an outsider. I scanned the blocks, the staff car park, and the netball field from a distance, and I imagined my friends all wondering why I was not in school.
What if any pupil saw me now, accompanying my mother to the principal’s office... what would they think? Trouble. I hung my head down and felt a cloak of guilt shroud my body.
My mother was dressed like she was going to church. Her heeled shoes clicked on the pavement with each step she took. My heart was beating fast. Mom had said that Mr White was a giant. Was she going to fight him? I began to picture her accusing the principal to his face and raising her voice in agitation. I imagined the principal asking his secretary to call for the security officers to forcefully remove my mother from his office. I felt so tense that I thought I’d need to use the bathroom, but then we arrived at the office.
‘Wait here, Marsha, while I talk to the secretary.’ Her tone had turned hard like steel. A battle was coming.
Miss Beth Washburn, the secretary, looked up from her papers without any show of surprise. I wondered at that. She did not ask any questions. In a few seconds, she was escorting my mother and me to Mr White’s office. I heard Mom’s heels hit the floor like a hammer. Then we waited by the door while the secretary went in to announce our presence.
I kept my eyes on the ground until I heard Mom gasp in surprise. To my shock, I realised that the battle was not to be fought by Mom and myself only. For a moment I thought I was dreaming, then Aunt Ruth came and held my hands, drawing me to sit beside her. But that wasn’t all. My grandparents were all there, too, and other folk I recognised, nodding their greetings with a comforting smile. Grandma Lilee and some of her club members were dressed in their club outfit.
My fear had disappeared. I felt like a giant, and Mr White was the grasshopper. So many thoughts from my Sunday School lessons and from Grandpa George Thompson flooded my mind.
One with God was majority. There was indeed strength in numbers. I looked round the room in pride, counting our team. We were twelve in number against the principal.
When he looked at me, I was not cowed.