A beautiful Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

It's no secret that I love Martin Luther King, Jr.

I think MLK Day rocks... I always have.

Growing up in the public school system, I learned all about his life and his impact on my life. Where I live, so much controversy surrounds whether or not we should celebrate his life... and I just don't get it.

Why not?
Is it that I live in the Deep South?
Is it a black/white issue?
Are we really still there?

Why do people make sarcastic comments about the fact we dedicate a day to reflect on his life? And then they throw out poorly thought through rhetoric along the lines of- ' yeah, well, why don't we have a day for this guy or that guy? Isn't that racist? etc. etc"

Logic fail. 100% of the time.

For a man such as he, in a time such as that... to stand up for Love and Freedom and Justice... saying tough things to us all... asking us to reflect on our own human nature? I don't know. But to me it's important. It makes sense. And I'm grateful that he had a place in my education growing up. I'm a better person because of this guy, and the teachers along the way who felt it important to stress his role in American history and humanity. The teachers that at a young age, challenged me to decide what kind of person I would be... The person who Loved? Or the person who Hated? And at what cost would I stand up for love. *Thank you, Mrs. Dee Course at Bellingrath Hills Elementary School, for investing in my little life and planting a seed in me.
As a young woman, raising two boys... the adoptive mother to our future daughter who will be Ethiopian, Dr. King's words, writings and speeches inspire me, convict me, and force me to reflect in a real way on how to best bring up my children in the world.

Today I talked more to James about Dr. King and why we celebrate his life. We looked through pictures and listened to his 'I Have a Dream' speech. James prefers the pictures where he is speaking out to a crowd. He told me he is going to talk like that one day... and that people will listen to him talk about Love and God. Oh, and when James talks about things like that I get all weepy. He's such a tender kid... and God gave him to me! It's cool to have a kid who is tender about things that I am tender about... that he's open to the things we learn together.

I hope he does speak that way one day. Whether it is to a crowd of a thousand or just to a crowd of three. Standing up for Love and Justice is everything a mother could want her child to do.

It's my job to impress on my children the importance of defining what you believe in and having the courage to stand up for those beliefs even when it's not popular. And of course, the first step in teaching our children that virtue, is to walk it out in front of them consistently as we navigate this life. And that's not easy... it never will be.

So, I'm glad we set aside one day a year to recommit ourselves to the dream that Dr. King spoke of... A day to renew our commitment to our children, our community, and our world. It's a beautiful way to live.

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” -Dr. King

Peace, Love, and Visionaries,
xo
lmkw