BLACK HISTORY MONTH

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

My high school daughter just began Booker T Washington's autobiography Up From Slavery. I am personally 2 chapters into it, and my soul is overwhelmed by Washington's words. For example, "I was asked not long ago to tell something about the sports and pastimes that I engaged in during my youth. Until that question was asked it has never occurred to me that there was no period of my life that was devoted to play. From the time that I can remember anything, almost every day of my life has been occupied in some kind of labor " He then goes on to share his jobs as a young child. His labor as a child is more than my labor as an adult. My momma's heart hurts for him, but you know what is amazing to me? He is not bitter. His father was a white man who never provided a thing for him, and he doesn't blame him a bit. How many LITTLE things in my day gather like pebbles in my shoe that have me complaining or blaming in no time? Am I the only one? Look for more from this book in a future post!

Pictured are the books dealing with slavery (the root of the problem) that launched the need for people like Martin Luther King Jr. to take a PEACEFUL stand for the rights of all people. Actually, I'm going to go a step deeper to say this was a problem of the devaluation of human beings created in the image of God, but slavery was an outward result of that mindset. To understand MLK Jr we must have an understanding of what he was standing against, and these resources will help take you back to the "root."

ALONGSIDE ACTIVITIES- Wow! The sky is the limit on this one, folks!

-Go back to Genesis where God created man (and woman) in His image. Share this with your kids! There really is no black or white. We really are just varying shades of brown!

-Watch Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Goggle it and watch it delivered to a huge crowd in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.

-Memorize part of the speech

-Copy part of the speech onto white cardstock. Decorate it with handprints in different colors by dipping hands into different colors of paint and "stamping" them on paper

-Discuss with your children about issues that we need to take a stand against in our day through prayer and peaceful protest. Are there causes that you should support through time or financially?

-Did you know that MLK Jr's favorite meal included fried chicken and pecan pie. How about serving some up for supper?