Thank You Martin Luther King!!!

Standing Tall
by Jamie McKenzie
In honor of Martin Luther King

Some kings rule their kingdoms sitting down
Surrounded by luxury, soft cushions and fans
But this King stood strong
stood proud
stood tall

When the driver told Rosa
"Move to the back of the bus!"
When the waiter told students
"We don't serve your kind!"
When the Mayor told voters
"Your vote don't count!"
And when the sheriff told marchers
"Get off our streets!"
using fire hoses, police dogs and cattle prods
to move them along
This King stood strong
stood proud
stood tall
Speaking of peace
of love
and children
hand in hand
free at last
free at last

When some yelled for violence
For angry revenge
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
He stood his ground
Preaching peace

And when some spit out hate
He stood there smiling
Spreading love
Until it rolled like the sea across the land
Sweeping away Jim Crow
Breaking down the walls
Ringing the bell
Joyfully
For Freedom

Until
Standing on the mountain top
They shot him
Coldly
Hoping to see him fall
Hoping to put him away
To bring him low

But this King
even in death
even today
stands strong
stands proud
stands tall
And we remember

by Jamie McKenzie

As with Adler's previous books in this series, the picture-book format serves as a highly effective, empathetic way to introduce the life and legacy of important Americans to young children. Here the highlights of King's life are presented with an emphasis on his childhood and family. Children will immediately relate to his painful early experiences of racism and understand the genesis of his lifelong struggle for racial equality. The book portrays the hatred King endured, the horror of his assassination and the intense power of his message. A single-page list of important dates closes the book. Its most striking aspect is Casilla's evocative watercolor paintings, which expand the text while celebrating the man. Ages 4-9. (review from amazon)





Martin's Big Words, a wonderful, oversize picture book biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., which was written by Doreen Rappaport and has dramatic and moving cut paper collage and watercolor illustrations by Bryan Collier
(in my limited research on books about Martin Luther King..this one came up more frequently than all the others.)

My Dream of Martin Luther King by FAITH RINGGOLD (Illustrator)

Faith Ringgold had a dream about Martin Luther King. Simply narrated in her own voice, Ringgold--award-winning creator of Tar Beach and Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky paints a vivid, powerful picture of King's childhood and strong family life, along with glimpses of prejudice, segregation, and protest.

Her vision blurs dreamily into King's adult life--from his family, to protests of Rosa Parks's arrest, even to his assassination: "This time we had come to mourn Martin Luther King's death by trading in bags containing our prejudice, hate, ignorance, violence, and fear for the slain hero's dream. We emptied the bags onto a great pile, and as the last bag was dumped, the pile exploded into a fire so bright that it lit up the whole world. There, emblazoned across the sky, were the words: EVERY GOOD THING STARTS WITH A DREAM."

Music I Enjoy!!

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Gospel Ship

Church Music and Love Songs!


May we rejoice in all the ways that make this country great!! And honor all those that help make it so!!

"We have learned to fly the air like birds
and swim the sea like fish, but we have
not yet learned the simple art of living
together as brothers."
-Martin Luther King