On Jan. 19, the day before the first African-American is sworn in as U.S. President, we’ll celebrate the life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
King, who began his career as a Baptist minister at the age of 24, helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and led the non-violent battle against racial discrimination in the 1950s and 1960s.
In 1963, he and other civil rights leaders organized the March on Washington. At the march, King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. That speech, along with Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, is regarded as one of the finest American speeches in history.
In 1964, King, at age 35, became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. He was honored for his work to end segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means.
On April 4, 1968, King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established as a national holiday in 1986.
Martin Luther King Jr. believed in the equality of all people, no matter what color their skin was. His beliefs, that you shouldn’t dislike others because they are different, are reflected in this poem about the different colors in a box of crayons.
A Box of CrayonsWhile walking in a toy store
the day before today,
I overheard a crayon box
with many things to say.
“I don’t like red!” said yellow.
And green said, “Nor do I!
And no one here likes orange,
but no one knows quite why.”
“We are a box of crayons
that really doesn’t get along,”
said blue to all the others.
“Something here is wrong!”
Well, I bought that box of crayons
and took it home with me
and laid out all the crayons
so the crayons could all see.
They watched me as I colored
with red and blue and green
and black and white and orange
and every color in between.
They watched as green
became the grass
and blue became the sky.
The yellow sun was shining bright
on white clouds drifting by.
Colors changing as they touched,
becoming something new.
They watched me as I colored.
They watched till I was through.
And when I’d finally finished,
I began to walk away.
And as I did the crayon box
had something more to say...
“I do like red!” said the yellow.
And green said, “So do I!
And blue you are terrific
so high up in the sky.”
We are a box of crayons
each of us unique,
but when we get together
the picture is complete.
by Shane DeRolf