MLK Day Activities: Three New Justice Issues to Explore with Your Students

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

For schools, MLK Day is a time to celebrate the accomplishments of the African-American community. Understanding the history, culture, and triumph of Black America is one way to recognize Martin Luther King, Jr.'s contributions to society. To broaden students' appreciation of MLK Day, educators can help students examine broader social justice issues. After all, King was not only concerned with Black America. In the latter part of his career, his work extended beyond the Civil Right's movement into involvement with the poor, with Jewish leaders, and with worker's unions of the late 1960's.

This article highlights contemporary social justice issues, issues with which King might be concerned if he were alive today. The paragraphs to follow define concepts, point out resources, and suggest activities for your students.

AGING AND AGEISM: As a person gets older, they face a myriad of challenges, including health concerns and financial strain. One major obstacle faced by older people is ageism. Ageism is defined as discrimination based on age, especially prejudice against the elderly. To explore health concerns based on aging, students can view The Alzheimer's Project, a four-part documentary by HBO. This documentary charts the impact of Alzheimer's disease on families as well as scientific advancements in the understanding and treatment of this disease. To understand ageism, students can read excerpts from Todd D. Nelson's book, Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice against Older Persons. Nelson's book discusses ageism as a distinct form of prejudice and outlines ways to positively shape society's views about aging. In combination with exploring these different media, students can engage in the following activities:

• Interview. Interview an elderly person about their experience with aging and ageism, or interview one or more members in a family dealing with the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
• Letter to self. Write a letter to their older selves. In this letter, students can conjecture the challenges they may face in fifty years and ways to deal with these challenges.

CLASSISM: Classism is defined as bias based on social class and usually refers to the belief that people of middle-class or upper-class status are superior to poor, or lower-class, people. Students can read the New York Times' series on class, titled "The Shadowy Line that Still Divides." In this series, a team of reporters spent more than a year exploring the concept of class and its influence on destiny in American society. Additionally, students can view the movie Maria Full of Grace. This movie tells the story of Maria, a pregnant seventeen-year-old Columbian girl, who decides to work as a drug mule in order to raise money to support her family and her unborn child. In addition to viewing these media, students can engage in the following activities to deepen their exploration of classism:

• Fieldtrip. Learners can visit two venues (e.g. shopping malls, grocery store, or school), one in a lower-class neighborhood and one in an upper class neighborhood. Write a 1-2 page reflection on the differences in these venues and how these differences may affect the lives of community members.
• Reflective journal. Learners could write a journal entry reflecting on their class status. Discuss the benefits being a member of their class allots and the challenges that being a member of their class presents.

DIS/ABILITY. Because all people are more able in some capacity and less able in others, most can identify with the theme disability. Disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. When exploring disability, students can examine the challenges and adaptations that come along with being disabled. Your students can view one of the following three documentaries: King Gimp, Murder Ball, or I Have Tourette's. The documentary King Gimp tells the story of Dan Keplinger, who was born with cerebral palsy, and his on-going battle to be accepted by society both as a person and an artist. Murder Ball explores the life of wheelchair rugby (murder ball) players. In this sport, quadriplegics play full-contact rugby in specially designed wheelchairs. I Have Tourette's, but Tourette's Doesn't Have Me explores the difficulties Tourette's syndrome can cause. The children in this documentary speak about the impact Tourette's has had on their emotions and self-esteem. To complement these documentaries, consider the following activities:

• Service-learning field trip. Arrange a trip where students volunteer to help people with physical challenges. Students can read info about the site they will be visiting and the physical challenges of the people they will be assisting. Next, students can write a 1-page reflection discussing their feelings about the visit before they attend. Finally, they can write a 1-2 page reflection on the visit after they have completed the service project.
• Speaker in the field. The instructor can arrange a speaker to discuss a specific ability challenge, perhaps related to one of the documentaries viewed by students. Before the visit, students can brainstorm questions to ask this professional.

Central to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s work was a belief is social justice, not just justice for Black Americans. To that end, consider deepening your students' understanding and commitment to King's ideals with an exploration of one of the above-mentioned themes. As MLK once said, "Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will."