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The Black Pledge of Allegiance

We pledge allegiance of the red, black and green, Our flag, the symbol of our eternal struggle, and to the land we must obtain.

One nation of Black people, with one God for us all,

Totally united in the struggle for Black Love, Black Freedom, and Black determination.

Millwood Public Schools Superintendent Gloria Griffin says she is "dumbfounded." Since Monday, she has been swamped with angry e-mails accusing her administration of espousing black separatist doctrine to Millwood students. She said nothing could be further from the truth.

"This is very unfortunate," Griffin said.

At the center of the misunderstanding is a copy of "The Black Pledge of Allegiance," which appears on the Millwood Public Schools Web site immediately beneath the traditional American Pledge of Allegiance.

Griffin said the pledge, the origin of which is unknown to her, has appeared on the Web site since it was created last spring. She said she had forgotten all about it until the angry e-mails started arriving.

The pledge is not something the students recite in school, she said, although it apparently has been characterized that way in e-mails that have circulated over the Internet.

"Let me tell you how this came about," Griffin said. "Two or three years ago, one of the middle school teachers was doing a study on black pride or cultural pride.

"This particular pledge was among the items the students found through their research."

Black students make up about 99 percent of the Millwood school system's population, she said.

Some students found the pledge to be encouraging and inspirational and asked if it could be used in the Student Planner, a book where students keep track of their assignments, Griffin said.

It was approved and later was placed on the Web site, she said.

Griffin said the idea that some people might interpret the pledge as advocating separatism never occurred to her when she read it.

"When I read it, I focus on the words 'united in love, freedom and determination,'" she said. "If you look at history, there is a great need for African Americans to love. It is very important that we appreciate freedom. And it is very, very important to have self- determination, and I don't mean that in a sense of separatism."

Others have interpreted the pledge differently.

One of the nicer e-mails Griffin received said: "So much of the Millwood Web site is worthwhile. However, it is a shame that this pledge to black separatism is allowed in your school system."

Another says: "I am offended by the Millwood Black Pledge of Allegiance. It is one of the most racist pieces of propaganda I have read in many years. In a nation which encourages equality, I am surprised to see such stark racial division being taught by a public school."

The pledge is not recited in Millwood schools, she said. The Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag is recited often.

The Kwanzaa Information Center Web site has an article on the origin of the red, black and green flag that the pledge refers to. It said the flag "has become the symbol of devotion for African people in America to establish an independent African nation on the North American Continent."

"Red is for the Blood. Black is the Black People. Green is for the Land," the Web site says.

****This bothers me a little... Sort of like the whole Kwanzaa thing..I was in Chicago over christmas and the local news stations were full of stories about Kwanzaa being taught in local elementary schools. Don't misunderstand...the news people didn't think there was anything wrong with it. In one of the stories it showed a teacher with several students, both white and black surrounding her as she lite candles in celebration of Kwanza, the center candle being black to symbolize the beauty of African Americans..I thought that was a little over the top..What do you think???

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