As we take time to reflect on the life and influence of Martin Luther King Jr., I’m sharing a few books which can help young people start to develop an understanding of themselves as activists–members of communities, which they have both power and responsibility to repair and reform.

Many school approaches to MLK’s legacy lean much too heavily toward a “colorblind” spin on his dream. As Jenn M. Jackson puts it in an excellent 2018 article on King for Teen Vogue, this “manufactured perspective…focuse[s] on erasing the divisions between black and white people, not necessarily by blaming white people for their participation in systems of anti-black racism, but by moving beyond racial difference altogether.” (She wrote a 2019 article expanding further on the whitewashing of MLK’s legacy as well. Teen Vogue, where were you in the 90s, when the deepest issue we were being encouraged to explore was the “zit crisis”???)

It is important to understand and honor that King was a radical and unflinching confronter of both white supremacy and apathy. Kids spend much of childhood being trained to comply and submit to the power structures around them. But perhaps we would all be better off if we got an earlier start on teaching them to question and confront the injustices they see.

 

One excellent book showing young children how they could contribute and change the world around them is Kid Activists: True Tales of Childhood from Champions of Change by Robin Stevenson, illustrated by Allison Steinfeld.  This book is great in that it demystifies epic figures from history. We often talk about historical figures as if there were something magical about them, making it impossible for us to imagine living in similar ways.

 

The chapter on Martin Luther King includes several anecdotes from his childhood, which help to demystify and make him relatable to kids. The chapter certainly covers MLK’s work as a civil rights leader, but also shows him as a person, who got into funny childhood capers and was affected my real relationships and experiences.

It also connects his thinking and development to the legacy of Gandhi and other influential figures in his life, helping kids to see how activism, while specific to the community and time in which you live, is also a global and timeless pursuit.

Two great books on the role of children in the civil rights movement are The Youngest Marcher by Cynthia Levinson, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton, and Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson, illustrated by Frank Morrison. Both feature children marching in the Birmingham Children’s Crusade of 1963, and neither pulls punches about the cruel and aggressive response of Alabama’s white police force.

 

A book for older readers that will surely inspire a desire to become active in their communities is We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices , a compilation of poems, essays, letters and more from some of the best children’s and YA authors of our day, beautifully curated by Wade and Cheryl Willis Hudson. It encourages children to be hopeful despite and emboldened against the divisive and hateful rhetoric all around.

 

Lastly, Never Too Young by Aileen Weintraub, illustrated by Laura Horton, features the stories of 50 children, past and present, who took action in their communities to effect real and lasting change.

A great family activity to follow up any of these reads would be to volunteer together. Martin Luther King Jr. said that “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” And activist energy remains only that, until it is put into action. Help your child start discovering the issues that are important to them by putting them in direct contact with real and present needs.

New York Cares is a great organization which helps facilitate volunteer opportunities with thousands of organizations around the city. They have a great searchable catalog of upcoming service events and you can easily filter your results to show only “Family Friendly” options (i.e. kids welcome). Right now, there’s only one Bronx event coming up, but they have plenty of listings in the other boroughs, and they add events all the time, so it’s good to revisit every few weeks. To get started, the parent/guardian simply needs to attend a one-time orientation and you are then equipped to volunteer alongside your kids as much as you want!

Kids have so much to offer their communities. As much as it benefits them to be empowered in this way, I can’t help but think that the real winner is the community at large when we help children participate more fully.