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Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Freedom Train: Booksin fourth-grader Nicole Sommers speaks to her class about her dreams for a brighter future for the world.
They have a dream
Willow Glen students celebrate the work of Martin Luther King Jr.
By Jessica Lyons
As I walk into Bryan Gray's civil rights and government class at Willow Glen Middle School, 10 students are copying a sentence from the chalkboard.
"I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
It's a popular quote, but maybe not all of Gray's students have thought about its meaning. Gray asks for interpretations.
Eighth-grader Joe Pumphrey raises his hand. "I hope my children will have respect no matter who they are," he suggests.
To herald Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday on Jan. 15, Gray's special ed, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade class has spent the past month and a half studying the civil rights movement, focusing on King's life and accomplishments.
"Melisa, what does separate but equal mean?" Gray asks, calling on eighth-grader Melisa Rojas.
"The same, but different," she says. It strikes me that Melisa voices the paradox perfectly.
A red and blue bulletin board on one wall reads "We Shall Overcome" in block letters. In the middle of the board is a map of the United States with strings pointing out the locations of the bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., the student protests in Little Rock, Ark. and King's speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The class will continue to pinpoint significant events of the civil rights movement through February.
After discussing King's quote, Gray plays a 10-second video clip of the same passage from the "I Have a Dream" speech. I've seen it more times than I can remember, but it still makes my throat tighten and the hairs on my arms stand on end. I think it touches these teens, too.
"What do you think the crowd is feeling?" Gray asks.
Joe volunteers again. "The crowd is really listening to him," he says. "They believe in him."
"Do you think he was a good leader?" Gray asks.
All 10 students mouth, "Yes."
Although San Jose Unified schools got a day off on Mon., Jan. 17 in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., local schools are celebrating King's legacy with assemblies, essays, pictures and lesson plans.
At Booksin Elementary, Kathleen Whittell's fourth-grade class wrote essays about King's life, and also compiled a list of their own dreams.
"I am free to sit wherever I want. I am free to play with whomever I want," reads fourth-grader Amanda Elizlndl. "This is because of the work of Martin Luther King Jr."
Several of the essays that the kids read aloud included details about King's birth in 1929, his education, his family, his Nobel Peace Prize, his family and his assassination in 1968.
"Luckily for all of us, his killer did not kill his greatness or the progress he made," David Lisenbee says.
Nine fourth-graders read their own dreams. Several include saving the rainforests, preventing pollution and homelessness, and ending violence, kidnapping, drug use and cigarette smoking.
"I have a dream that if you are driving thorough San Francisco, and other places, you will not see people living on the streets," reads Nicole Sommers. "There will be less drugs, less wars, and no more people killing animals."
Michael Ngo echoes his classmate's concerns, saying his dream is to help people who don't have homes and to stop littering. "I can pick up trash, and put it in the garbage can," he says, describing what he can do to achieve his dreams.
This class of 9- and 10-year-olds has the right idea. The future looks bright.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
