The Dream

I teach art on Wednesdays to Samuel's kindergarten class. I'm not much of an artist myself, but I can finger paint a blue night sky and chalk up stars in my own interpretation of Van Gogh's Starry Night with the best of them. It has been a joy watching the children create and dive into new ways of looking at things.



This last Wednesday, after recess and snack time were all taken care of, the teacher proceeded to share a story with the kids about why we celebrate Martin Luther King day.


The kids were most attentive. She showed a picture of separate water fountains, a picture of where they had to sit on the bus and so forth. One little boy interjected, "I think it would have been hard to be a black boy back then." The story went on to tell about Rosa Parks and Dr. King's dream. Another little voice piped up, "I think being white looks better than black." How interesting, I thought. Surely this was just a innocent child's observation. I don't think many of us in this day and age teach our children to think of ourselves as "prettier" or superior to those with a different skin color.

It reminded me of a part of the amazingly written book entitled, The Help where a black maid named Abilene repeated over and over to the white child she tended the words, "You is kind. You is smart. You is important." After all she could do, those words were the gift she left to the child in hopes that: 1. She would internalize them and believe them. And 2. She could change the future knowing she was of worth.

In the end, I suppose that's about all we can really teach these little ones. Be it through art, music, literature, or just plain daily interaction, the sentiment: You are kind. You are smart. You are important. As is your neighbor, are words we can all live by.