King Luther

Hailey came home from preschool last week all smiles and happy, as she usually does. Later that day, Nana and Papa came to see Zach's basketball game later that night and were talking with the kids. Nana asked Hailey what she had learned about in preschool that day. Hailey looked at her and said "King Luther." My mom looked at me wondering if I had any idea what that meant and I just shrugged my shoulders and shook my head. I tried to think if there was a fairy tale or nursery rhyme or something with a King Luther in it, but I just couldn't think of anything. Suddenly, my mom laughed and said, do you mean Martin Luther King? She smiled and said yes! It was so cute that she remembered, but didn't quite get it right when telling us.

On Saturday while they were playing, she asked me if I knew who Marvin Luther King was (misspelling intentional to show how she pronounced it). I told her I did, but could she tell me a little bit about him? She then proceeded to tell me that Marvin Luther King was a very good man. When he was little he was told not to come play at his friends house because he wasn't the right color. Hailey didn't quite understand what that meant - she thought his clothes or something he was wearing wasn't quite the right color. When I explained a bit more about the problem being the color of his skin, she seemed to not understand why anyone would not let someone come play just because their skin was a different color. I was so happy to hear this because we have tried to teach our children about the importance of accepting anyone regardless of how they look or where they come from. She then told me all about Rosa Parks (even though she couldn't remember her name) and how no one on the bus would let her sit in the front. She had to sit way in the back because she wasn't the right color either. Bless Hailey's little heart, she was very sad for her and so much wanted her to be able to sit in the front of the bus.

We (Hailey, Zachary, and I) had a very nice talk about this and it was nice to see that they understood how unfair it was to treat someone differently just because of the color of their skin. They both giggled when I told them we treat everyone the same no matter if their skin is white, black, or purple! I was really proud of my kids and their understanding of the basic principles of equality. Maybe they really are paying attention when we teach them things!

So from our family to yours, Happy King Luther Day!