Alisdair and I read some more of Amy Pastan's biography, "Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Photographic Story of a Life," this afternoon. Part of the material in Chapter 7 - "Daring to Dream" was detailing the events of the "March on Washington" on August 28, 1963, where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, with more than 250,000 people (both white and black) in attendance.
After we finished reading, I got out the folder with the little printouts that we need to put together for the lapbook we are making on the topic. There was a little pocket, with a picture of MLK on the front at the podium. The instructions suggested the student could print out some of the text of the speech itself as copywork.
I sent Alisdair to the computer to find some text so he could complete the assignment. However, instead of finding a portion of the text, he found the entire document. Why put a few sentences into our lapbook, when we can have the whole thing? So, we shrunk the font down so it would fit on two pages, printed it off and I folded it up to fit in the envelope.
I was going to read the entire speech to Alisdair and then I got a better idea. "Check You Tube for the speech," I told him. Almost instantly Alisdair found the actual footage from the event.
It was like we had suddenly come upon a time machine and, thanks to our computer, were transported from our living room ~ back to 1963 and the crowded Mall in Washington. Back to a time when men wore suits and hats. And back to a time when film footage was still in black and white instead of technicolour!
Technology is, indeed, amazing! What better way to learn than to hear Martin Luther King, Jr. HIMSELF uttering such powerful and emotional words? Maybe, like myself, you were too young to remember the events of that hot August day (or, like Alisdair, maybe you weren't even born yet!) Regardless, we can still witness this part of our collective history just by watching the vintage footage taken of Martin Luther King, Jr. at the podium that afternoon.
Showing posts with label Homeschool Helper Online. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homeschool Helper Online. Show all posts
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Thursday, 10 February 2011
BOOK REVIEWS ~ If YOU Lived At the Time of Martin Luther King
I always knew there was a history of segregation of blacks and whites ~ especially in the Southern States, but I had no idea how difficult it would have been to be someone of Afro-American heritage living under those conditions. Then I read the childrens' book, "If YOU Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King." This book, by Ellen Levine, sets out the facts in a style that is simple to understand.
The back cover outlines the contents this way:
"A different time...a different place...What if you were there?
If you lived at the time of Martin Luther King, you would have seen important changes brought about by the civil rights movement.
When did the civil rights movement begin?
Were children involved in civil rights protests?
What was the March on Washington?
This book tells you what it was like during the exciting era when Martin Luther King led the fight against segregation."
Alisdair and I read the entire 80-page illustrated book in just one sitting, before he went to bed. It was educational for us both. We learned that:
* In Oklahoma there were segregated telephone booths.
* In South Carolina, black and white cotton mill workers were forbidden to look out the same window.
* And in Birmingham, Alabama, the public library wouldn't let anyone read a children's book showing black and white rabbits playing together. (Page 14).
I had known that schools were segregated, but I didn't realize that doctor's offices, hospitals and even cemeteries were also designated for one race or another. I'd known about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott, but I didn't know that "White people could get on a bus, put their money in the box, and take a seat. Blacks in many cities climbed aboard buses and put their money in. Then they had to leave the bus and get on again through the back door" (Page 12). I also didn't know that public parks and beaches were segregated.
I knew the blacks, who were fighting for their civil rights were strong people ~ I just didn't know HOW strong they were to continue the bus boycott for more than a year. Levine tells readers that "Churches around the country dontated station wagons" so that people could car pool. And she relates a touching incident where "one day one of the ministers said to an elderly black woman that she should use the buses, for she was too old for all this walking. She said absolutely not. 'My feets is tired, but my soul is rested!' (Page 30). Levine says some people walked "as many as fourteen miles a day" (Page 29).
I was also struck by the fact that the fight for civil rights was not something that happened in ancient history. When the "March on Washington" took place on August 28th, 1963 - I had just celebrated my first birthday. It is hard to believe that people were fighting against such blantant discrimination only a few decades ago.
"A ten-year-old southern black child was asked what she thought 'freedom' meant. She answered, 'Freedom means for your mother to get a better job, and for us to get better homes' " (Page 78). Levine points out, however, that the fight is not completely over as there are still many inequalities between whites and blacks. For example, many "whites in America have better jobs and earn more money than blacks. They live in better neighbourhoods and go to better schools. More young white people go to college than blacks. And there are still white people who are prejudiced against blacks. They have to learn that all people are equal and must be treated equally" (Page 79).
I suppose, because it is a book for children, Levine's text mentions that Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed but it doesn't go into any detail about his assassination in April of 1968.
Alisdair says this book was "simple and easy to understand. It really made you feel as if you were there. The pictures were very nice and colourful. I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in learning about the civil rights movement. I think that the United States has moved quite a bit from that time because now they have a black president. Whites were very harsh to blacks and they didn't treat them as they would have liked to have been treated themselves."
Having read this book, we will continue to work through the more detailed contents of Amy Pastan's biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. (A Photographic Story of a Life). Thanks to Levine's explanations, I am sure Pastan's information will make much more sense to both of us.
Were children involved in civil rights protests?
What was the March on Washington?
This book tells you what it was like during the exciting era when Martin Luther King led the fight against segregation."
Alisdair and I read the entire 80-page illustrated book in just one sitting, before he went to bed. It was educational for us both. We learned that:
* In Oklahoma there were segregated telephone booths.
* In South Carolina, black and white cotton mill workers were forbidden to look out the same window.
* And in Birmingham, Alabama, the public library wouldn't let anyone read a children's book showing black and white rabbits playing together. (Page 14).
I had known that schools were segregated, but I didn't realize that doctor's offices, hospitals and even cemeteries were also designated for one race or another. I'd known about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott, but I didn't know that "White people could get on a bus, put their money in the box, and take a seat. Blacks in many cities climbed aboard buses and put their money in. Then they had to leave the bus and get on again through the back door" (Page 12). I also didn't know that public parks and beaches were segregated.
I knew the blacks, who were fighting for their civil rights were strong people ~ I just didn't know HOW strong they were to continue the bus boycott for more than a year. Levine tells readers that "Churches around the country dontated station wagons" so that people could car pool. And she relates a touching incident where "one day one of the ministers said to an elderly black woman that she should use the buses, for she was too old for all this walking. She said absolutely not. 'My feets is tired, but my soul is rested!' (Page 30). Levine says some people walked "as many as fourteen miles a day" (Page 29).
I was also struck by the fact that the fight for civil rights was not something that happened in ancient history. When the "March on Washington" took place on August 28th, 1963 - I had just celebrated my first birthday. It is hard to believe that people were fighting against such blantant discrimination only a few decades ago.
"A ten-year-old southern black child was asked what she thought 'freedom' meant. She answered, 'Freedom means for your mother to get a better job, and for us to get better homes' " (Page 78). Levine points out, however, that the fight is not completely over as there are still many inequalities between whites and blacks. For example, many "whites in America have better jobs and earn more money than blacks. They live in better neighbourhoods and go to better schools. More young white people go to college than blacks. And there are still white people who are prejudiced against blacks. They have to learn that all people are equal and must be treated equally" (Page 79).
I suppose, because it is a book for children, Levine's text mentions that Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed but it doesn't go into any detail about his assassination in April of 1968.
Alisdair says this book was "simple and easy to understand. It really made you feel as if you were there. The pictures were very nice and colourful. I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in learning about the civil rights movement. I think that the United States has moved quite a bit from that time because now they have a black president. Whites were very harsh to blacks and they didn't treat them as they would have liked to have been treated themselves."
Having read this book, we will continue to work through the more detailed contents of Amy Pastan's biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. (A Photographic Story of a Life). Thanks to Levine's explanations, I am sure Pastan's information will make much more sense to both of us.
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
VIDEOS: We Shall Overcome ~ A SONG THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
Alisdair and I are about halfway through reading a biography called "Martin Luther King, Jr.: A photographic story of a life" by Amy Pastan. We also have another colourfully illustrated book, by Ellen Levine, for young readers. This second book is titled ". . . If You Lived At the Time of Martin Luther King."
In Chapter 4 of Pastan's book, she describes the events of October 1960, when Martin Luther King was released from the Reidsville State Prison after Senator John F. Kennedy had intervened on his behalf. Pastan writes: "Back in Atlanta, Martin was greeted by crowds singing the hymn, We Shall Overcome, which had become the theme of the civil rights movement. He stood in front of Ebenezer Baptist Church and thanked the senator who helped him, noting that he was a man of principle and courage. King never said he would vote for Kennedy, but Negroes who heard him speak assumed he would" (Page 44).
Alisdair had never heard the song "We Shall Overcome" so I suggested we should look it up on You Tube. We found many different versions and renditions of the song, and it was hard to decide which one we should feature here. And so we decided to post three!
The first one is about the song itself and has a bit of a documentary feel. It is also an advertisement for a book called, "We Shall Overcome: A Song that Changed the World" by Stuart Stotts.
We chose the second selection because this choir is from Morehouse College. Martin Luther King, Jr. entered Morehouse as a 15-year old and graduated from that institution in 1948. He later went on to additional studies at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania and also to Boston University, but Morehouse College played a major role in his educational journey.
Finally, we chose the last video clip because it shows Martin Luther King, Jr. ~ as the man, as a preacher and as a leader. I wondered aloud to Alisdair what might have transpired on the political stage if MLK had not been assassinated. We shall never know.
In Chapter 4 of Pastan's book, she describes the events of October 1960, when Martin Luther King was released from the Reidsville State Prison after Senator John F. Kennedy had intervened on his behalf. Pastan writes: "Back in Atlanta, Martin was greeted by crowds singing the hymn, We Shall Overcome, which had become the theme of the civil rights movement. He stood in front of Ebenezer Baptist Church and thanked the senator who helped him, noting that he was a man of principle and courage. King never said he would vote for Kennedy, but Negroes who heard him speak assumed he would" (Page 44).
Alisdair had never heard the song "We Shall Overcome" so I suggested we should look it up on You Tube. We found many different versions and renditions of the song, and it was hard to decide which one we should feature here. And so we decided to post three!
The first one is about the song itself and has a bit of a documentary feel. It is also an advertisement for a book called, "We Shall Overcome: A Song that Changed the World" by Stuart Stotts.
We chose the second selection because this choir is from Morehouse College. Martin Luther King, Jr. entered Morehouse as a 15-year old and graduated from that institution in 1948. He later went on to additional studies at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania and also to Boston University, but Morehouse College played a major role in his educational journey.
Finally, we chose the last video clip because it shows Martin Luther King, Jr. ~ as the man, as a preacher and as a leader. I wondered aloud to Alisdair what might have transpired on the political stage if MLK had not been assassinated. We shall never know.
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome some day,
Oh, deep in my heart I do believe
We shall overcome some day.
We'll walk hand in hand,
We'll walk hand in hand,
We'll walk hand in hand some day,
Oh, deep in my heart I do believe
We shall overcome some day.
We are not afraid,
We are not afraid,
We are not afraid today,
Oh, deep in my heart I do believe
We shall overcome some day.
We shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace some day,
Oh, deep in my heart I do believe
We shall overcome some day.
~ Adapted from: WE SHALL OVERCOME by Zilphia Horton, Frank Hamilton, Guy Carawan and Pete Seeger
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