This article features one of the most vivid illustrations of Mary Ann Pollar’s sense of the Rainbow Sign as a pedagogical project. For her, the “Black agenda” can be summed up as an effort to “reach the children.” At a cultural center that specialized in arts and entertainment, this project could be advanced by converting weekend performances into residencies that would provide groups of local students the opportunity to work with top-tier members of the Black Arts community.
“Your heroes can teach you anything. We want to put these heroes together with the children. No kid who wants to be a painter can say no to math. If a kid doesn’t like to read, put him together with a poet. Then he’ll not only read but write and put the punctuation in the right place.” – Mary Ann Pollar