Students in teacher Kathleen Jackson’s fifth grade class at Martin Elementary School received a virtual visit from San Francisco Mayor London Breed on February 17, 2021, as part of the school’s observance of African-American History Month.
According to Principal Jonathan Covacha, Jackson's class was initially focused on learning about and producing a video presentation of United States Vice President Kamala Harris, who previously served as San Francisco district attorney before becoming California attorney general and a U.S. senator.
As the students learned more about the current political landscape, they realized that the current mayor of San Francisco was not only an acquaintance of Vice President Harris but also an acquaintance of Ms. Jackson’s mother.
The idea of a virtual visit by Mayor Breed became a reality after Jackson and her mother reached out to San Francisco City Hall.
When the mayor dropped in on Wednesday’s class, the students talked to Mayor Breed about her upbringing, political career, and the current pandemic.
Some students even took advantage of the opportunity to inform the mayor of their ongoing efforts to gain wider recognition for Civil Rights icon Ruby Bridges, who helped integrate the William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans as a six-year-old in 1960.