"My country tis' of thee, sweet land of liberty"
"Let Freedom Ring!"
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
For many years now, I have attended our local Martin Luther King, Jr. marade (march/parade). It's an important day to me, as it symbolizes something that matters a great deal to me, it represents freedom, it honors the people in our history that suffered, that were spit upon, ridiculed, burned, tortured, hung, killed & because of them my life is better, easier. They affected our world, they made our world a better place, and the world my son lives in a better place. My mixed-race adoption was made possible because others paved the road for me to experience equality, for my parents to adopt the child they selected & wanted. My son exists, because I am able to love, learn & journey in a country where free choice is possible. We choose the religion we want, we vote, we have opportunities in education, etc., much of which was affected and changed for the better because of people like Dr. King.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a pioneer, a peacemaker, a dreamer, a progressive, a pacifist, a martyr, a preacher, a thinker, a writer (Letters from Birmingham), a leader, a prophet. I continue to honor and respect him on the holiday America set aside to do this, because I believe in what he sought for our future. I want my son to know his roots, our country's roots, and to be a peacemaker & a dreamer & a thinker too. I want to strife for a better America & for my son to have courage and determination, like that we saw & continue to see in leaders of the civil rights movement. Today, we did not make it to the marade, but I wanted to share a piece of this historical movement with my son, in some way.
I have this poster on the wall in my little home "office" space. It's the 'I have a Dream' Martin Luther King, Jr. speech poster. I look at it everyday. I played the video clip of MLK's speech for my two (almost three) year old son, and he climbed up on my lap to watch. I pointed to the video & then to the poster & told him that this was the same man. He said, "wow look at that mom, wow." It was pretty neat. It felt good to have him experience the MLK speech "live" and also make the connection to our home life, where he sees this poster everyday.
"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
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