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Young Children Join in Celebrating the Life of Martin Luther King Through I Have a Dream
My 5 year old son overheard me talking about Martin Luther King Day a few days ago and immediatly started asking me questions about MLK; who was he and why did he have a special day named after him? Then I remembered that my dad had bought me a book called I have a Dream by Margaret Davidson when I was about 9 years old which I still had. This was a good time to bring it out again, didn’t think it would be this early but I guess times have changed. I came across this article which also talks about introducing young children to legends such as Martin Luther King.
Read more here.Want to get tongue-tied? Try explaining segregation, nonviolence and the assassination of a national hero to a 6-year-old.
But there’s a joy in conveying your core values to children that trumps even the hazards, so with Martin Luther King Jr. Day fast approaching on Jan. 18, we consulted Doreen Rappaport, author of the children’s book “Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” (Hyperion).
“Dr. King is a model of courage and persistence and determination,” she said. “Here is somebody who grew up in the hideous time of racial segregation, which really made kids and adults feel they were inferior, and this man preached that hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do it. That’s extraordinary.”
Young children aren’t ready for all the details of the message, she says, but they can understand the heart of it.
“It wasn’t like today” when Martin Luther King Jr. was alive, she might tell a 6-year-old. “If something happens today, you can go to your teacher and tell him or her that somebody was misbehaving and your teacher will help you solve the problem.”
But in the 1950s, black people didn’t have someone in power to turn to when white people did the wrong thing, Rappaport says.
“I think what you can say to children is sometimes when there’s no one to help, we try to bring attention to the problem in a different way. And marching and demonstrating and walking and holding signs that say, ‘We want peace,’ and, ‘Freedom now,’ is another way to show the world what’s going on without lifting your fist.”
Little kids can also understand the basic history of the civil rights movement, she says. Just keep it simple.
Book details
- I Have a Dream: The Story of Martin Luther King by Margaret Davidson
EAN: 9780590442305
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- I Have a Dream: The Story of Martin Luther King by Margaret Davidson
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