Good morning readers. Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and there will be much in the media about this important time of reflection. Since many conceptualize this as a day on, its not out of step for to write on this issue.
It is difficult to write about Martin Luther King since so much has been written about him. What can you write about him that hasn’t already been said? In my case, this morning the answer came through my daughter. Yesterday, my wife told my little girl that today we will watch the video of Martin Luther King Jr. after breakfast. In school, she is learning a little about him, and its a great thing to reinforce that.
So, this morning, my daughter asked an innocent question, as children often do. She said “does he live in the neighborhood” At that point, my wife and I looked at one another, before I was hesistant, but said that MLK is no longer with us. Its not an easy thing to explain to a child as to why. Such a piercing question.
We celebrate the memory of a reformer who was assassinated by the very country he sought to improve. Learning history is one thing, but teaching it to the very young is another. I expect that today, a conversation that I will have with my daughter will be the first of many.
Tell your daughter the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., lives in the hearts and minds of America and what is the Dream of it.