The significance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day ( a federal holiday) celebrates his life, legacy, and contributions to civil rights. Each year’s themes, often called a “day on, not a day off”, encourage volunteerism and community service to build a “BELOVED COMMUNITY”.
Ask most kids what comes to their minds when they hear ‘MLK, JR. HOLIDAY’, they perhaps will say, ‘no school today’; ‘mail will not be delivered today’; ‘he said, “I have a dream”. Not just kids but many remember some ‘facts’ BUT what about relating MLK, Jr.’s heritage to our lives NOW…TODAY !!! People are becoming too complacent and taking for granted of the ‘equality and peace (non-segregation, prejudice, and discrimination being against the law … WRONG!!!
We still don’t live in a peaceful nation; sure, we’re better now than we were ‘back when’ .. BUT, the DREAM IS STILL A GOAL, A MUST, where the laws of injustices are fulfilled in some hearts, and certainly in the law of the land! Ignorance can’t hang out with education, so here are some things you should educate your kids on!
THINGS YOU SHOULD TEACH YOUR KIDS
ABOUT DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR…..
WHO HE WAS….A black man who fought for peace and equality in America, He was a minister, husband, and father; he had a passion leading him to do great things that any kid can do one day; he changed the world in ways that didn’t take super speed of a tall body, or great hair, or sexy abs, or luck, or money, or popularity!
WHAT HE DID … It’s more about teaching kids how he wanted every person to be treated the same… regardless of how they looked; he fought for it…( NOT with his fists)___ but with his INTELLECT, ELOQUENT WORDS, REACTIONS, FAITH and LOVE to change people’s minds…a great role model for humanity in general!
WHY HE HAD TO DO IT… Telling them that they wouldn’t be able to be friends with a white classmate or not enjoy their favorite ice cream because their skin color would keep them out of a certain restaurant may help them understand how different and unfair life was before the Civil Rights Movement…. The political injustices of being stopped without a rational reason by some in authority… TODAY and even with the video/audio that car cameras show proof of being beaten/ridiculed by some only because ‘YOU’re Black and a Male…these things on the news in ‘some’ cities are happening NOW and FREQUENTLY!!!
WHAT WE CAN DO TO REMEMBER HIS LEGACY… Rev. Dr.. MLK, Jr.’s
“dream” and his reactions to the injustices Then / Now can reflect Peace and Brotherhood is the Dream. People need to work_build a nation_world, that is untainted by hate and oppression, can be a Reality!!! These are the workable solutions you should want all ‘KIDS’ to REMEMBER, PRACTICE and THRIVE…NOT the 3rd Monday but a ‘day of UNITY, REFLECTING, DOING THE RIGHT THING ALWAYS’!!! “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that”….one of MLK’s famous quotes from his book, “STRENGTH TO LOVE“;
REMEMBER:
BLACK LIVES DO MATTER,
ALL LIVES MATTER
FOR GOD CREATED ALL OF US IN HIS IMAGE WITH LOVE FOR ALL
Brenda Jelks Hutchinson
“I have decided to stick with to love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”