Learning about Tolerance

An unique glance in troubling times can describe many moments in history. The recent earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, as well as national devastation in the Gulf of Mexico and Joplin, Missouri, have brought a nation together to volunteer, donate and be aware of how quickly things can change.

During moments of uncertainty, it is oftentimes to remember times of celebration and rejoicing. This is so true as we observe the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Taking a moment today - this week – to rejoice for this great man and honour the differences we embrace in everybody.

While racism is not as glaringly obvious today as it was in Dr. King's time, children may still feel prejudice against them for color, race, sex, physical attributes, religion and more. Although we hope that children have the opportunity to discuss the things that make them different from their classmates, as well as things that are the same, we cannot always count on our teachers and Sunday School helpers to discuss how they can treat each other more fairly in the future. Through the eyes of a child, these differences can be vivid social barriers that exist on a daily basis.

Our son Macon received a valuable lesson in tolerance and acceptance when Donzaleigh Abernathy, daughter of civil rights leader Rev. Ralph David Abernathy visited his elementary school. The intimate setting of his class allowed Ms. Abernathy to teach lessons and share personal insight of her incredible childhood. A handful of students researched and worked together to devise a Q & A for their gathering. Since the class had just read The Watson’s Go To Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis, their teacher helped them draw a parallel from the fictional story with the truth. Macon’s question for Ms. Abernathy was “How were you affected by the church bombing in Birmingham that killed four girls?” Ms. Abernathy was able to share not only an account of this horrifying event; she had photos to show the devastation on her young five year old face as she attended the funeral of these young girls.

The most memorable and valuable reward of this gathering for our son is not just having the presence of this great woman to sort out the questions and relive a moment of history for his curious class, but afterwards, Ms. Abernathy wrote an inscription in her book, Partners to History: “For Macon, You are a Gift. Dream Big and make those Dreams Reality, My Hero. Love Donzaleigh Abernathy P.S. share this with Morgan, Madison and William, Jr. 2-1-2007”