Remembering Dr. King

As you observe this holiday, please visit these sites and learn more about Dr. King and the struggles with which he helped lead, organize, and champion.  

As always, please view the websites with your child and talk with him/her as you learn more about America's history.

• The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta, Georgia:  The National Park Service maintains this site as well as related sites important to Dr. King.
• From the site:  "A young boy grows up in a time of segregation…A dreamer is moved by destiny into leadership of the modern civil rights movement…This was Martin Luther King, Jr.  Come hear his story, visit the home of his birth, and where he played as a child.  Walk in his footsteps, and hear his voice in the church where he moved hearts and minds.  Marvel at how he was an instrument for social change."
• The Martin Luther King Jr. Monument in Washington, D.C.:  Chinese artist Lei Yixin was commissioned to sculpt the large granite likeness of Dr. King.  The site is also maintained by the National Park Service.
• The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.: From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech.  The exact location of where he stood is forever etched into a marble landing which is documented in this pretty cool NPS panoramic shot. See if YOU can find it!  Hear an NPS Park Ranger, Gill Lyons, recount his memory of Dr. King's speech as a part of a greater narrative - military serviceman to discrimination to struggle and "redemption". (Parent advisory regarding a few words Mr. Lyons uses)
• The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee:  Housed at The Lorraine Motel, the site of Dr. King's assassination, the museum aims to chronicle the key episodes of the American civil rights movement as well as its legacy.  Linked is the portal to its Kids' Page.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Monument in Washington, D.C.  In the background is the "mountain of despair" from which he emerges. (from Wikipedia)

The saying on the side of the monument which came from his famous "I have a dream" speech. (from Wikipedia)

In a few weeks, we will be reading a story titled, Happy Birthday, Dr. King, which will briefly connect a grandfather's remembrance of Dr. King's efforts to his grandson's fight with a classmate (and subsequent discipline) to sit in the back of the bus.