Civil Rights Movement

I love teaching my kids new things!  I love to see their faces as they process.  A few days ago, I had an amazing discussion with Mary Frances about the Civil Rights Movement.

She came home with a comprehension paragraph about Rosa Parks and needed a little help.  So, I sat with her as she read through it, but she had to stop after every sentence or two for clarification...different water fountains?  separate seats?  different schools?  Why?

I love that we have been successful in raising our kids to this point with no feeling of inequality between the races.  I also love that I had the opportunity to begin teaching her of the struggles that occurred during that historic time and the prejudices that still exist today.  In fact, until now my children have called them brown simply as a matter of observation.

When Thomas got involved in the discussion, we had to start from the very beginning because he couldn't figure out how anyone figured out black people were different.  So, I explained to him that black people were originally slaves, in America.  When the slaves were set free, people still felt like they were lowly and did not treat them like people, sometimes more like animals. So, they had to fight for all of their rights.

We talked about how our families grew up in the south while all of this was going on and why people still have those same prejudices.  Mary Frances was very happy to say that she did not feel that way at all, and I explained that was because daddy and I tried really hard to lead them in that direction.

So, as our discussion ended, I had an overwhelming desire to show the kids one of my FAVORITE movies, Remember the Titans!  So, we snuggled up and watched, discussing many questions as we went along.  I was ecstatic to be able to participate in what felt like a huge moment in my children's lives.  I know many more discussions will follow, but we are off to a great start!