Making King Relevant for Our Children
- by Justin Brown | Cincinnati, Ohio
What is the intended benefit for children being excused from their schooling on Martin Luther King Jr. 's Birthday (or any other nationally recognized holiday)? Would it be more appropriate for the public school system to dedicate that day to the intense purpose of King's life? Sure on the surface, the day off is about the commemoration of his birth, his life's work, and the impact of his untimely death. But it's unclear of just how many black parent's enforce the intentions. Instead, we whine and stress on the care of our children for that day. Worse yet, some of us even find it a burden to care for our own children on that day. What if we actually helped to influence the education of our own children, rather than leaving it to the school house full of frustrated, underpaid, and understaffed teachers?
As I considered the irony of my daughter being OUT of school for King's Day, being that he fought for equal education, I challenged myself. I challenged myself to ensuring that she and my young son learned my version of what King stood for. I spent the morning teaching my own Black History Curriculum full of songs, history, & video.
My 4 year old son stared wide-eyed at the marchers being sprayed with fire hoses and bitten by police dogs. I struggled with wether or not to show him the candid images of Emit Till's battered body & face. In the end I felt it necessary to show them to my children as an early reminder of the exact nature of the struggle that people like King endured.
While we might all agree that it is important to highlight the role these folks played in the freedoms and rights we enjoy today, it could be argued that black parents fail to actively get involved in such an education. We rely to heavily on the public education system. It is in fact a daunting commitment, but a necessary obligation for all parents-white, black, or indifferent.
FFM is officially challenging the African American father to take Black History Month as the starting point for committing to to the black-education of our children!
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