The Fight For Light and Truth

I know that Martin Luther King, Jr. wasn’t an absolute flawless. Who is?
And I know that there were many other people involved in the Civil Rights movement and that those people stood on the shoulders of countless others.
Yet I still find myself excited to teach about Martin Luther King, Jr. every year.
I like the songs that the textbook series includes. My students do, too.
I like the picture books that the textbook series suggests. My students do, too.
I like the moments when my students realize that they have heard Martin Luther King, Jr.’s voice.
I like the moments when my students get upset about the blatant, legal segregation that used to exist.
I like the fact that my younger students have no concept of skin color—that they are terrible at seeing themselves any different than the classmates around them—and my classes are diverse.
I like the fact that my older students are starting to realize that while segregation is no longer legal, it still exists in how people treat one another and we still have a long way to go if we want equal rights for all people.
One of my classes informed me today that a certain political candidate wants to stop people from coming to America by building a wall to keep people out. They didn’t think that was right or fair.
I said, “When we don’t think something is right, it’s up to us to fight against it. That’s what Martin Luther King, Jr. did. It’s up to us to keep his dream alive. It’s up to us, every day, to make decisions to treat people the same. No matter who they are. What’s the opposite of rich? (Poor.) What’s the opposite of black? (White.) What’s the opposite of man? (Woman.) MLK, Jr. believed that people were people, regardless of any of these things. I hope that on Monday you’ll think about these things. And that maybe one day you, too, will grow up to fight for the good in people.”
Then we watched kid president challenge us to dream and sang Free At Last, and I silently prayed the prayer of my desk calendar for today:
“Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead us…O God my God.”
Amen.