Not Martha Lunar King

I will confess that I don’t think I have ever fully understood and appreciated the life and sacrifice of Martin Luther King Jr. Of course I knew that he was an amazing man who stood up for truth and justice.  But he has always been someone in the history books and not someone who has changed the way my life is today.

Two things have given me a little different perspective on the importance of MLK Jr.

1. This morning at breakfast I asked Abby if she knew why she didn’t have kindergarten today. I explained that there was a time when some people didn’t like each other because of the color of their skin. They were mean to each other, hurt each other and called each other names. I could see her processing that. We then talked about how that wasn’t right thinking because God created all of us and we are all loved by God. She was nodding in agreement by this point.

Then I shared that Martin Luther King Jr. (not Martha Lunar King as she first repeated) helped people to understand that it was wrong to treat people differently based on how they looked.

Next we talked about how schools used to separate kids with different skin colors. Abby told me about one friend in particular who she loves to play with and thinks her braids are really pretty.  History has changed and my little girl can now play with this little girl.

2. I had certainly heard portions of the famous “I Have A Dream” speech, but never the whole thing. Recently I listened to all 16 minutes and was very moved. For the first time in my life, I tried to imagine what it would be like to live in that era and listen to the radical words of the speech. If you’ve never listened to it all the way through, I highly recommend carving out the time to do it. Many people have written about the leadership lessons that we can gain from MLK Jr. I won’t get into that here — but he led with his words and his life. Inspiring.