San Francisco school board president drops Pledge of Allegiance in favor of quotes from acclaimed black authors Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison and gay pioneer Harvey Milk in response to Trump ‘attacking our liberties’
Stevon Cook skipped the Pledge of Allegiance on Tuesday before a school board meeting and instead read a quote from poet Maya Angelou
Harvey Milk, Toni Morrison and James Baldwin among the great Americans who will have their remarks recited by Cook at the next meeting
Cook noted that he removed this ceremonial exercise at a time when the Trump administration ‘has been attacking our liberties’
‘We should stand for because those ideals are important to me. To speak them is another thing,’ said Cook
‘There are a lot of ways to express gratitude and appreciation for the country and its citizens. This is how I plan to do that,’ said Cook
By CHRIS SPARGO
DAILYMAIL.COM
11 October 2018
The newly appointed president of the San Francisco School Board broke with tradition on Tuesday by skipping over the Pledge of Allegiance.
In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Stevon Cook said that it was a decision he made prior to the meeting, and discussed with a few members of the board.
Cook noted that he removed this ceremonial exercise at a time when the Trump administration ‘has been attacking our liberties,’ opting instead to recite a quote from famed poet Maya Angelou.
After roll call was taken, Cook did not ask those in attendance to stand for the pledge and instead read: ‘When you learn, teach. When you get, give.’
Cook explained his decision by saying: ‘If you ask 10 Americans who wrote it, or when it was implemented, or why it is how we start our meetings, a lot of us would be hard pressed (to answer).’
And for some he explained, himself included, the words of the Pledge right hollow these days.
‘We should stand for because those ideals are important to me,’ said Cook.
‘To speak them is another thing.’
Now, there is a new tradition’
‘There are a lot of ways to express gratitude and appreciation for the country and its citizens,’ said Cook.
‘This is how I plan to do that.’
The Rest…HERE
