As I was getting Bud ready for bed this evening, it occurred to me that I should talk to him about why he'd had the day off from school. I mistakenly assumed that he didn't know.
"So, Bud," I asked, "do you know why there was no school today?"
"It's Martin Luther King Day!" he cried. "Junior!"
"That's right!" I said, surprised. "And do you know who Martin Luther King, Junior was?"
"He was the President," Bud replied. "He made a speech."
"Well, he wasn't the President," I said, "but he was a very important American. Do you know what his speech was about?"
"About Free At Last!" Bud said. He told me they'd heard it at school. And then we had a brief conversation about skin color and difference and value.
But the point was not lost on me: my son saw a black man making a speech and assumed he was a President. Because in the world he's growing up in, when he sees a black man making a speech - it usually is the President.
And that's all because of Martin Luther King, Junior.
Kristina Chew has a great post today on care2.com about MLKJ's legacy and the lives of our children with autism. Click here to read it.
8 comments:
This: Because in the world he's growing up in, when he sees a black man making a speech - it usually is the President.
...STILL gets me choked up. Even more so because Bud gets it.
"About Free At Last!"
Oh, I juts about died from cuteness.
I love this. Bud is amazing and he totally gets it, doesn't he?
you know until I read it, I didn't even think about it
How cool is it that our kids can grow up in a world where it isn't strange at all that a black man is president!
YES!
Oh I'd say he's got it all right.
I reacted in the same was as Niksmom. *sniff*
Oh, and you've inspired me to start blogging again. Not sure if I'll manage daily posts but, thanks for your blogging. I love hearing about Bud.
When I talked to my son about the day, I reminded him about other times we had talked about the man. I said, "Remember? Martin Luther King, Jr had a dream!"
My boy said, "I wonder if he ever dreamed he was naked in public."
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