While some kids may have spent the day off from school playing video games, a few dozen in Johnson City were celebrating the reason they were out of class Monday.
Carver Recreation Center was hopping with activity early in the day as kids from the Johnson City area and as far away as the Greeneville Boys & Girls Club signed in to attend activities where they learned about Martin Luther King Jr.
City and county offices, including area schools, were closed Monday to celebrate King’s birthday and his contributions to the fight for equality for all people.
Carver Program Director Tamara Foster said Monday’s activities were designed to be fun while teaching the same message King did — treat everyone equally and respect each other.
“We’ve been doing this for several years. We have kids of all ages come in to the collaboration with ETSU Multicultural Affairs and also a choir group from ETSU,” Foster said.
Invitations also went out to Kingsport, Bristol and Greeneville groups to participate as well.
Nearly 50 elementary and middle school kids had an introduction to drumming, heard stories about King, completed a word search related to King’s life and wrote their own “I have a dream” essay.
From the feedback session just prior to a MLK march around the Carver track, it sounded like the kids got the message.
Time after time, kids eagerly raised their hands to say what they had learned, and their responses reflected being polite to others, equality for everyone and a desire to see peace in the world and an end to racism.
Makiyah Grey, a 13-year-old Liberty Bell student, said she enjoys learning about King.
“I want to learn about him helping us to be together,” she said. King’s life “is very interesting to me,” she said.
Foster said she’s found that many of the kids who participate in Carver’s activities already know a lot about King and the Civil Rights movement.
“They know a lot. The biggest thing is ‘I have a dream.’ They know about his speech very well. We also try to educate them on more of what he did and why he did it. It’s very important because kids should know their history,” she said.
“Right now there’s still racism going on, but we’re trying to do what Dr. King did and try to get everybody to be one and to be equal,” Foster said.
from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed
To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1cOC3yt
This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City
from Tumblr http://bit.ly/KAv5X3
via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City
No comments:
Post a Comment