Elk Grove community shows support for poet and educator, ‘The Middle-Aged Rapper’

“I’ve blessed the world with so many good things,

I’m a proven mortal, a true Ebony King.”

This past Sunday, the final lines of “Ebony King” — as well as its title — could be found on dozens of sweatshirts, baseball caps and laminated posters in the parking lot of Edward Harris Jr. Middle School in Elk Grove. Groups of people came and went from a fold-out table. They picked through the merchandise and gathered poster-making supplies.

At first, their cars haphazardly scattered the lot; soon, newly decorated, they assembled into four parallel lines and filled the lot entirely. Each person was there to celebrate the life of Frank Withrow in all the various ways they knew him. And each car participated in a procession past Withrow’s house. Withrow sat out front with a microphone, delivering his trademark wisdom over a speaker.

“You may be dark and I may be light, but we all know the difference between wrong and right,” Withrow said. “We’re more alike than different in so many ways, so why do we let prejudice become part of our days?”

Withrow — also known as “The Middle-Aged Rapper” — is a poet and retired educator. In 1972, he moved to Sacramento from his hometown of Washington, D.C. and has made an indelible mark on the community here ever since. Now, he’s battling cancer, His friends and former students came together to show their support and appreciation.

“I complained that there were no black cheerleaders at CK McClatchy (High School), and he said, ‘Do something about it,’” said Lynette Hall, McClatchy class of ’99 and an organizer of the event.

Withrow served as Hall’s vice principal; not only did he motivate her to pursue cheerleading, but he also mentored her to the presidency of the school’s Black Student Union, of which he was faculty sponsor. His experiences at a historically black college even guided Hall’s own college choice.

Similar stories of inspiration ran throughout the crowd.

“Mr. Winthrow was the love of my life,” said Theresa Richards, another former student. She knelt in the grass with two other women, each writing a positive message for Winthrow on their respective posters. Apparently, she and Withrow often fought in typing class, where he told her, “Theresa, you’re going to learn to type!” He covered up her keys, and “God bless him, to this day, that was my first job. I learned how to type.”

Debrah Johnson, Sacramento High class of ’75 and friend of Richards, created a poster in honor of the chants that Withrow would recite at school football games. She held it up and read it aloud: “Oh yeah, we’re having fun, oh yeah, we’re No. 1!”

By the end of his career, Withrow had worked in youth leadership and education for 34 years.

Withrow’s influence also extends beyond his students. Michael Benjamin, who considers himself “Frank’s little brother” despite being around the same age, proudly modelled a self-designed black history T-shirt that Withrow produced and sold for him.

“Who took the ‘L’ out of Black?” the shirt asks, with a raised black power fist replacing the ‘L.’ The shirt urges readers to learn about black history, so they can get their “ancestral roots ‘BACK ON TRACK.’”

Benjamin has known Withrow since 1980, when Withrow participated in his Black History Month event at Sacramento Repertory Theater.

“One of the most unique persons I’ve ever met in my life,” Benjamin said of Withrow. “He’s educated everyone in this town.”

He cited one of Withrow’s poems, “To Be Somebody,” as a way in which Withrow changes lives; he interprets the poem as a lesson on how to achieve Smithsonian-level greatness.

“He wants you to have a positive mind. That’s what Mr. Withrow is about. A positive mind,” Benjamin said. “He wants all these young people to pick up on that. And they have.”

This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 1:23 PM.