Today is the birthday of one of the greatest African American leaders of all time, Dr. Martin Luther King. His importance cannot be over stated or celebrated. However, many people, including myself, have an issue with our children having a day out of school for his birthday. We feel he wouldn’t approve of this either.

Therefore, we thought it would be useful to provide a few ideas to make your day productive with the children as they stay home this holiday. Let’s jump into the 8 productive ways to spend Dr. King’s birthday with your children.

Community Service

Dr. King gave his life to the African American community and the world. His selfless life should serve as an example of what we can do if we start thinking about others instead of ourselves. Let’s make this day productive with the children by taking them to community service events. Give the joy of helping someone less fortunate than themselves, get their hands dirty, and help. It is a great feeling and wonderful way to celebrate King’s birthday.

Attend a Rally

Being a national holiday, there will be rallies all over the country in celebration of Dr. King and his legacy. Get out the house with your children and attend one of these rallies. Enjoy the atmosphere of others celebrating this great man. Engage the people there in conversations about Dr. King and what he means to the black community. Allow your children to see all the people celebrating his life and achievements to give them some perspective on what he was able to accomplish.

Discover Local History

The black community is so rich in tradition and history. Take the time today search out some of it in your local area. Make the history in your area come alive by getting out of the house and visiting some of the local landmarks. There are many all over the country. Like 12 stones in Alabama, Stone Mtn Ga… Zora Neal Hurston home near Orlando, the first black homes and cemetery….The areas first black schools…Negro mountain the highest point in Maryland.. . DCs hidden treasures in negro history along 16th st

If we could get dozens of UI members to experience living history lessons we could create some serious momentum to get the community back on our feet and moving in the right direction while reconnecting with our history.

Go to the Black History Museum

Black history museums are all around the country and perfect field trip for Dr. King’s birthday. They are stocked with relics of our ancient past, American history and even present day important events and people. This creates ample opportunities for you to hold valuable discussions with your children about things that matter. Children need to be immersed in their history to get an understanding of the relevance and importance those who lived in the past are tot hem today.

Watch Hidden Colors Documentary

Our children are in need of history lessons outside of the current educational systems. Hidden Colors 1 and 2 give you a different perspective to discuss our history with your children. You might not agree with everything said, but it will lead to some great debate, opportunities to further research, and stretching of your understanding of where we have been as a people.

Hidden Colors is a documentary about the real and untold history of people of color around the globe. This film discusses some of the reasons the contributions of African and aboriginal people have been left out of the pages of history. Traveling around the country, the film features scholars, historians, and social commentators who uncovered such amazing facts about things such as: The original image of Christ; The true story about the Moors; The original people of Asia; The great west African empires; The presence of Africans in America before Columbus; The real reason slavery was ended And much more.

Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1857724/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl

Study Black History

There have been millions of people who have sacrificed their lives for us to have the opportunities we have today. Our children need to understand this and learn of people, events and history that puts them into a wonderful position and opportunity to have a great future. Be sure to take a moment to teach your children their history on this day, Dr. King’s birthday.

Explore The True Dr. King

Take the time to talk to your children about the TRUE Dr. King and not just the whitewashed version being shoved down our throats. King was a real person with flaws and imperfections. If your children understand he wasn’t a saint, but an actual person who had to continue to fight despite not being perfect, maybe they will be able to further identify with him. And when they make mistakes in their lives, they will understand it is okay not to be perfect and those mistakes don’t have to identify them. They can overcome their shortcomings to be great and useful to society.

 

Talk to your children

The bottom line is to talk to your children. Engage them today. Don’t just toss them in front of the tv, video games, or internet waiting for the day to pass so they can go back to school. Take this day to raise their education and understanding of the world around them.

Dr. King was a giant of a man, but it is our jobs as parents to make that giant’s life relevant and useful to our children. If we don’t, I promise you no one else will. And our children are worth it!