Poetic Tongues/Fabu
Childhood Lessons on Human
Rights
Childhood Lessons on Human
Rights
| Fabu |
Have you read the stories about the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
which revealed that even as a child, he had greatness inside? Reverend
King didn’t just become a leader as a man, he was born with ability and had
it nurtured as he grew from a boy. There is one story about Reverend King
that says as a little boy, he was taken to buy shoes. The shoe salesman
refused to let a little “Negro” boy try them on in the store, but insisted that
they go to the back of the store. The shoe salesman wanted the father and
son to just take the shoes he gave to them, pay and be gone. Reverend King
remembers he and his Dad walked out of the shoe store, without the shoes
but with their dignity intact, and that he understood that wasn’t right to be
treated badly because of skin color. Daddy King affirmed his little boy,
agreed with him and furthermore told him that he should never accept
injustice. He gave his son hope that although this was a bad experience, it
had nothing to do with him personally and that he had the power, even as a
child, to stand against wrong. Reverend King grew up with the power to
which revealed that even as a child, he had greatness inside? Reverend
King didn’t just become a leader as a man, he was born with ability and had
it nurtured as he grew from a boy. There is one story about Reverend King
that says as a little boy, he was taken to buy shoes. The shoe salesman
refused to let a little “Negro” boy try them on in the store, but insisted that
they go to the back of the store. The shoe salesman wanted the father and
son to just take the shoes he gave to them, pay and be gone. Reverend King
remembers he and his Dad walked out of the shoe store, without the shoes
but with their dignity intact, and that he understood that wasn’t right to be
treated badly because of skin color. Daddy King affirmed his little boy,
agreed with him and furthermore told him that he should never accept
injustice. He gave his son hope that although this was a bad experience, it
had nothing to do with him personally and that he had the power, even as a
child, to stand against wrong. Reverend King grew up with the power to
force change in segregated America. I believe every child is born with gifts and talents that adults, as parents, family, teachers,
mentors and friends, help them to express and develop. It is a sacred duty and an honor to assist children in exploring who they are and
what their gifts to the world will be. These gifts and talents are God’s treasure placed inside every child without regard to their skin
color, gender, or parents’ economic class.
Children deserve the respect and protection of adults, yet children can also lead adults in doing the right thing. If we remember our Civil
Rights History correctly, in 1963 when adults wouldn’t support the marches because of fear of losing their jobs or their lives, children
and teens went forward, had water hoses turned on them, vicious dogs attacked them and they were beaten and even arrested by
police. They showed the world that even as youth, they believed in freedom and were not afraid to suffer to gain equal rights and justice.
Who can forget the teenagers of Soweto, South Africa in 1976 who also bravely marched for better education and were shot and killed
by South African police? The whole world witnessed the brutality of apartheid. When we remember these times, we must also hold them
up against the times we live in. It is an injustice to say that Black children cannot learn and they are responsible for failing in Madison
public schools. It is the same racism from decades ago, dressed in the new millennium, that tries to make us believe Black children are
inferior or that poverty or their parents are responsible for their academic failure. Every child is born with greatness inside, so which
adult is guilty of warping or stunting their God-given potential before it can thrive? Our children in Madison deserve the best that adults
can give them. They deserve schools that stimulate their abilities and turn their dreams into realities. We who remember the struggle of
segregated schools as well as the tough times integrating schools have earned the right for our children to be educated with kindness,
cultural competence, and even gender specific schools like Madison Prep. Who is to say that the little Black boy that you view as a
failure in a Madison elementary school today, is in reality the leader that will take the struggle for Civil Rights to a victory for human
rights tomorrow?
mentors and friends, help them to express and develop. It is a sacred duty and an honor to assist children in exploring who they are and
what their gifts to the world will be. These gifts and talents are God’s treasure placed inside every child without regard to their skin
color, gender, or parents’ economic class.
Children deserve the respect and protection of adults, yet children can also lead adults in doing the right thing. If we remember our Civil
Rights History correctly, in 1963 when adults wouldn’t support the marches because of fear of losing their jobs or their lives, children
and teens went forward, had water hoses turned on them, vicious dogs attacked them and they were beaten and even arrested by
police. They showed the world that even as youth, they believed in freedom and were not afraid to suffer to gain equal rights and justice.
Who can forget the teenagers of Soweto, South Africa in 1976 who also bravely marched for better education and were shot and killed
by South African police? The whole world witnessed the brutality of apartheid. When we remember these times, we must also hold them
up against the times we live in. It is an injustice to say that Black children cannot learn and they are responsible for failing in Madison
public schools. It is the same racism from decades ago, dressed in the new millennium, that tries to make us believe Black children are
inferior or that poverty or their parents are responsible for their academic failure. Every child is born with greatness inside, so which
adult is guilty of warping or stunting their God-given potential before it can thrive? Our children in Madison deserve the best that adults
can give them. They deserve schools that stimulate their abilities and turn their dreams into realities. We who remember the struggle of
segregated schools as well as the tough times integrating schools have earned the right for our children to be educated with kindness,
cultural competence, and even gender specific schools like Madison Prep. Who is to say that the little Black boy that you view as a
failure in a Madison elementary school today, is in reality the leader that will take the struggle for Civil Rights to a victory for human
rights tomorrow?
