The King and I

Never before has our child been so transfixed by a lesson she’s learned in preschool. It’s been nine days since the kids learned about and celebrated Martin Luther King and his life’s work, and not a day has gone by in which Olivia’s failed to converse or inquire about him. The questions were relatively simple at first – Does he have children? Can I see more pictures of him? – but they have become increasingly challenging and uncomfortable as of late. Beni got these today: Can we visit him? How did he get a boo-boo? We hope to one day summon the ability (courage?) to thoughtfully explain the subjects of death, assassination, and racism to our daughter. That one day, though, would not be today.

To satiate Olivia’s King-sized appetite, we checked out a children’s book about him from the library (see above) and listened to part of a recording of a speech he’d given at my alma mater in 1966.