To commemorate this holiday, here’s a round-up of our finest stuff on the iconic civil rights activist
Without fail, social movements inspire art. Ella Jenkins started making music when the civil rights movement was still new. Her 50 year career came to earn her the title of “First Lady of the Children’s Folk Song” . Featuring many soulful African American spirituals, her work honors the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. We recommend “Wade in the Water” from her 1960 album African American Folk Rhythms. Give her a listen!
Picture book biographies, folk painting portraits, and a guest appearance from King’ s older sister: our MLK inspired Bunchbrary includes 14 stellar reads for all ages. Books are a great way to open up discussion about racism, segregation and standing up for your rights. Read more...
Beth Blenz-Clucas blogs about music for kids that grownups will love too
When the “First Lady of Children’s Music” sings, people don’t just listen, they participate. With her simple call-and-response approach, Ella Jenkins can bring a crowd of children and adults to their feet, singing and dancing together. Many of the recordings over her 50-year career feature African American spirituals, including “Wade in the Water” from her 1960 album African American Folk Rhythms. The song, straight out of Exodus, once provided a coded message to slaves traveling via the Underground Railroad. Today, anyone singing it along with Ella can feel the song’s power.
Now well into her 80s, Ella continues to inspire and delight children and educators. One of the original artists on the Folkways label, Ella will soon release a new recording, A Life of Song. Read more...
A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. by David A. Adler, illustrated by Robert Casilla A brief, illustrated, biography of the Baptist minister and civil rights leader whose philosophy and practice of nonviolent civil disobedience helped American blacks win many battles for equal rights.
Martin Luther King by Rosemary L. Bray, paintings by Malcah Zeldis Folk-art paintings enhance the text of this portrait of the courageous civil rights leader. Read more...
What should parents do to teach their kids more about MLK and Civil Rights?
Reading books is the number one best way. Ask your local libraries for the best books as there are always new ones coming out. Use the day off as an opportunity to talk to your kids and make sure they know their own history. But the bottom line is, just do it. Some parents are uncomfortable talking about what people had to put up with before Civil Rights. And there are a lot of violent images associated with the Civil Rights Movement— police setting dogs and fire hoses on peaceful protesters, Dr. King’s assassination, but these are important points of our history.
How do you introduce the topic of Civil Rights to kids?Read more...
We at Bunch were very interested in how families around the world celebrate Martin Luther King Day. Via Twitter and Facebook, we asked you to share your stories about this holiday with us. Janet Sangare wrote to tell us about how her family sees the day not just as time off work, but an opportunity to serve others. Her story made us feel touched, inspired and educated about this very important day.
Drawing of Martin Luther King Jr. by medium as muse/Flickr.
I have two sons. They are now 21 and 17. Since they were very young, I have tried to pass on the significance of the figures who sacrificed their time and lives in order for black people to have dignity and equal rights. I use the term “black people” because I arrived to the U.S. as a child of Caribbean immigrant parents. My first visit to the U.S. was about one year after the assassination of Dr. King. Washington, D.C. was a burned-out ghost town. It was through my mother that I learned of the civil rights struggle and what Dr. King had done to help his people. My mother impressed on me that the suffering of African-Americans was like no other within the African diaspora. Read more...
