MLK Day

"Can anyone tell me about the Civil Rights Movement? What was the goal?"

"The goal of the Civil Rights Movement was....World Peace." Said matter-of-factly by a rather feminine male student, in about the same tone a beauty pageant contest would use when proclaiming her one wish. Not quite, my friend, but I like where your head is at.


In preparation for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, our literacy activities last week all revolved around MLK, his speech, and his effect on our country. For the first time in my life, I watched his whole "I Have A Dream" speech, and wondered why I had never seen it before. I was fixated on the footage from that beautiful day in 1968, when thousands and thousands of people marched on Washington to stand behind this courageous man. And also for the first time, I realized just how brave Martin Luther King, Jr. really was. One of my intellectually advanced students made an excellent point in our discussion after watching the speech. She reminded us that King took a huge risk, knowing that what he was saying wasn't popular, and was even dangerous at the time. It sounds obvious, but when you really think about it, it's pretty incredible. Most of my kids said it themselves--they would never have survived in a time like the 1960s, when violence and injustice against African Americans were legal. And I'm scared to think of who I would have been if I had lived in those times, born and raised in a southern state whose perception of justice was disgustingly warped. Nevertheless, it spawned great discussion in my classroom for the last thirty minutes of each day.

We watched a BrainPop video about Martin Luther King and discussed some of the basics of the Civil Rights Movement. We watched the whole MLK speech and had good conversation about the meaning of his powerful words. We talked about whether we can truly say that there is equality among the races today and, surprisingly, my class seems to agree that there is (my homeroom class, the honors kids, had a very different opinion when we discussed similar issues earlier in the year. I think they are closer to the truth, and my last period babies are a little more blissfully ignorant). We read quotes from MLK and interpreted what they meant. We saw a slideshow of pictures from the Civil Rights Movement, set to the song, "I Have a Dream" by Common. And finally, we wrote out our own dreams. Each students started with the line, "I have a dream...", and finished it with his or her own hopes for the future.

Some were pretty standard: "I have a dream, that one day there will be no more world hunger." (Can you guess who wrote that one? World Peace boy.)

Some were very insightful: "I have a dream, that one day there will be less jails, and more jobs and schools." "...that families would be together."

And some were...interesting: "I have a dream, that one day people will only be on welfare for emergency, and they will not be having babies if they don't have no jobs." (Followed by a round of disapproving lip-smacks from kids wearing brand new Jordans and living in poverty. Just saying.)

I haven't quite finished mine yet. I'm not sure what my dream is. I know Teach for America would want me to say, "One day, all children will have access to quality education...", or whatever their mission statement is (should I have that memorized?). And I don't disagree. I'm just not sure if it is enough.


Sometimes, I chuckle thinking about my life right now. Teaching 30 African American students about Martin Luther King, Jr. It seems a little ironic, and sometimes I don't even feel like it's my place. What do I know about the struggles of African Americans, 60 years ago or now? Nothing.

All I know is, I love my kids...black, white, yellow, purple, striped or spotted. I love those babies. And I think that's enough for now.


And I couldn't leave without another amusing quote, from the same kid who has already provided so many laughs. He has taken to falling asleep in my class multiple times a week, which he blames on it being the end of the day. This little gem of a conversation came after I had assigned the "I Have a Dream" writing prompt last week.

"Miss H, I ain't got no dreams."

"Honey, you should have more dreams than anyone in this classroom, 'cause all you do is sleep all day!"


Point for Miss H.