Open Mike: Mirror, Mirror
- Janelle's poem is about two girls who see each other in a mirror.
- One of them doesn't like the reflection she sees so she smashes the mirror. All this gets her, though, are cut and bleeding hands.
Tyrone
- Tyrone thinks everyone's poems are getting better.
- Mr. Ward has moved Open Mike Friday from once a month to once a week, and the practice is helping.
Tanisha Scott
- It annoys Tanisha so much when Tyrone calls her a "caramel cutie." Other people might love her light skin and "good hair," but she definitely doesn't.
- Judianne is the worst. She actually reached out and stroked Tanisha's hair the other day and Tanisha had to yell at her. What the heck?
- That's why Tanisha chopped off all her hair last year. Her mother didn't want her to cut it, but she went and did it anyway—it didn't turn out so great, but at least it stopped people from commenting on it.
- Like those girls in the cafeteria that would call her "high-yella" and said she didn't belong. What do they know?
- Tanisha knows she's better off with her real friends anyhow.
- That's why she and Janelle and Diondra are going to do a group project on women of the Harlem Renaissance for Mr. Ward's class.
- Those two girls accept her for who she is, no matter what she looks like.
Open Mike: For the Record
- Tanisha's poem is about her ancestry and how people see her.
- She comes from Africa; her great-great-grandparents were slaves; her mom is black. So why isn't this good enough for everyone else? It's good enough for her.
Tyrone
- Ah, so now Tyrone gets why Tanisha hates it when he calls her a "caramel cutie"—she's proud of her African heritage.
- Maybe she likes African music, too? That might be a nice way to start a conversation with her.