On Friday, Scarlett's kindergarten class learned about MLK Jr. That "he died trying to help people." Which is true of course. But I wanted her to know more about racial inequality, with a bit more depth. That's a hard thing to talk about with a 5-yr-old. as we drove to her Saturday morning piano lessons, we talked about slavery, segregation, civil rights.
Our drive is about 20 minutes long--that one short synopsis of hundreds of years of civil strife. But she was interested and attentive. She asked why certain people were stuck on the back of the bus, why we ever needed separate drinking fountains--"It's just water," she said. And she thought it was sad that people would want to kill someone who was trying to help people. I thought that was a good place to leave it, and I simply agreed with her.
I'll leave you with an excerpt from Dr. King's last speech (a single day before he was killed). It's not "I have a dream" or anything, but it has its moments also. Enjoy.
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