The children in Ms. Walls’ First Grade classroom probably notice right off that the woman dressed in regal black with silvery ear rings has come with a box of goodies — coloring books and crayons.

“I am so excited about being here this morning,” the woman says. “Do you know why I’m here?”

She’s going to read to them, they answer. They see the big picture book in her hands.

Yes. But first — and this is so important — listen to who she is.

“I am Dr. Marge Williams,” she says, introducing herself purposefully as doctor. “I am an educator.”

These are the moments when Project Sankofa in Genesis School in Kansas City means to capture the imagination of the boys and girls in the room.

They see someone who looks like them, said LINC Caring Communities Coordinator Keith Brown, who created the project eight years ago. They see a Kansas City Central High School graduate. They see a new friend.

They might not understand just how accomplished Dr. Williams is — a longtime school administrator, retired Hickman Mills School District Superintendent and current LINC Commissioner. But they know she’s special — and she is real.

This is how ideas can wiggle into children’s heads and take shape as they grow, Brown said. “Oh hey. Maybe I can become a Ph.D. and a superintendent of a major school district,” he said. “We’re talking about not only allowing them to dream, but really imagining that these realities can happen.”

At the same time Dr. Williams was visiting with the first grade class, other people from Genesis’ community were visiting other classes. The visitors included CEOs, founders of non-profit agencies, pastors, a recording artist, a bank examiner.

The Sankofa bird is a symbol from African culture. It flies forward while its head looks back. It carries an egg in its beak. Sankofa means looking to one’s past with pride and honor, and bringing the wisdom forward for the next generation.

The children’s book Dr. Williams chose was Jacine and Grandma’s Cane, the story of a girl who helps her grandmother after a stroke, which was written by local author Dr. Carmaletta Williams, the CEO of the Black Archives of Mid-America in Kansas City.

Dr. Marge Williams’ message to the class was one of kindness. The coloring books she shared came from a local project teaching anti-violence mindfulness for children.

This home-grown generosity of Sankofa spirit played out in several classrooms at once. And, like Dr. Williams, many of the visitors have come multiple times to the monthly events at Genesis.

“When I see my community members here, it really enriches my heart,” Dr. Williams said. “Because I believe we leave a legacy for them. It is a blessing to be here.”

The tangible rewards of Project Sankofa are many, said Genesis School Executive Director Kevin Foster. The visitors share their personal journeys and reinforce the importance of education and character. And teachers and staff see the community’s support firsthand.

But it is the unknown, yet unseen, rewards to come that may be most lasting.

“I always tell speakers,” Foster said, “that you never know which student is in the classroom you visit who will one day say that your message caused them to start thinking about what they can and will do in the future.”

Brown knows what it means to have people of stature in your life. Brown is the nephew of Fred Curls, one of the founders of the influential Kansas City political organization Freedom Inc. Brown was surrounded growing up by prominent people like Bruce R. Watkins, Leon Jordan and Rosemary Smith Lowe.

They were as real and as close as front porch gatherings.

Some of the children in these classrooms may not have adults close in their lives that spark high aspiration.

Project Sankofa gives children that familiar and friendly front-porch relationships with people of stature, Brown said.

Whether some may be doctors, or lawyers, or politicians or CEOs someday, for now the children in Ms. Walls’ First Grade class join Dr. Williams in reciting an oath that will carry with them today.

I will be kind.

I will be considerate.

I will be helpful.

I will be a friend.

——

By Joe Robertson/LINC Writer

Video edited by Bryan Shepard