Kendria K Harris

For Smart Mouth Girls Kendria K Harris

Who remembers this one? "Miss Mary Mac Mac Mac all dressed in black black black..."What about this one? "East the west I met my boyfriend at the candy store he bought me ice cream he bought me cake, he bought me home with a belly ache..."Women all over the world learned rhymes like these as children, and I can guarantee that even after all this time the lyrics have never been forgotten. Rhythm and rhyme have always been helpful tools when teaching. Though these childhood anthems offered plenty rhyme, what did they really teach? What lessons did you actually take away that helped then or even now? Unfortunately, none. For Smart Mouth Girls was intentionally written in urban dialect. The neck rolling, finger snapping lyrics, are reminiscent of playground anthems like Miss Mary Mack and other "hand pat" games, but are strategically and deliberately crafted to speak directly to the building up of self-esteem within little black girls. Utilizing the timeless teaching method of rhythm and rhyme, For Smart Mouth Girls is a fun, light-hearted approach to introducing uncomfortable but critical conversations that must be had with our little girls.