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Happy Birthday to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr! I remember back in 1980 hearing “Happy Birthday” off of the Stevie Wonder album, Hotter than July. Wonder had called Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King’s widow, and said that he had a vision that one day there would be a national holiday to honor King’s legacy. He wrote “Happy Birthday” to be the spark, that would light a fire. In 1986, that spark would eventually result,  in King’s birthday being the first national holiday to celebrate an African-American. “You know it doesn’t make much sense/ There ought to be a law against/ Anyone who takes offense/ At a day in your celebration.”  This article from the Montgomery Advertiser recounts the whole story! https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2021/01/17/martin-luther-king-jr-day-stevie-wonder-happy-birthday-song/6565902002/

In honor of King’s Birthday I want to share A Place To Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired  a Nation, that tells the story of how he came to write his famous, ” I Have A Dream” speech. This speech galvanized people and organized the people against racism and for jobs, freedom and human dignity. The speech and the collective march on Washington for “jobs and freedom” offers part of the basic blueprint for the “beloved community” that is a  lasting legacy of the Civil Rights Movement. The book does a good job sharing the excitement, intensity, and weightiness of the night before, and the day of, the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Younger kids can be introduced to Martin Luther King as a national hero and the ongoing movement for racial, economic and environmental justice. Older kids can explore the role of speech, language, and political organization in activism and politics.

Here is the studio version of Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday” (warning this video shows graphic violence inflicted on protesters by police) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrIrEgEX2hU

Here is a live version of the song in honor of Nelson Mandela Day performed in 2009 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7iU1Sk2FDY

Here is an amazing multimedia, interactive version of the “I Have a Dream” speech  from the Freedom’s  Ring project out of Stanford University  https://freedomsring.stanford.edu/?view=Speech

There has been increasing criticism of how Martin Luther King and the I Have a Dream Speech have been co-opted by reactionary forces to present a picture of a promise fulfilled instead of a dream deferred. It’s up to us to build on the dynamic actuality of Martin Luther King’s visionary leadership,  rigorous practice of courageous civil disobedience, and soul kitchen of transformative love. The Howard Zinn Education Project gives us some of the materials to embark on this journey. “The right wing twists Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words to attack anti-racist education, focusing almost exclusively on MLK’s “I have a dream” declaration. But Dr. King was a radical — in the most profound sense. He denounced the Vietnam war, when it was politically risky, and did not mince words about U.S. racism: ‘The doctrine of white supremacy was imbedded in every textbook and preached in practically every pulpit. It became a structural part of the culture.’ ” Find more materials for helping older children understand the legacy of Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement at https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/mlk-jr-beyond-i-have-a-dream/

If you are anywhere near a National Park admission is free on Martin Luther King’s birthday! Mount Denali is the highest mountain in North America located in Denali National Park, Alaska, 20,310 feet above sea level. The lowest point in North America is in Death Valley National Park which is 282 feet below sea level. Perhaps there is a way, there is a way, to connect the land based spirituality and political practice of the American Indian Movement with the nature metaphors and connection of the city and the country in MLK’s political oratory. ( See my  https://wiseearthchildren.com/?s=vine+deloria). Let freedom ring from the highest mountain top to the lowest valley. Let freedom ring!