Dearborn Historical Museum Office Manager Leah Burton reads Jean Marzollo’s “Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King” to children during a Jan. 20 event at the Dearborn Historical Museum’s McFadden-Ross House.
Children write their dreams for the future on miniature clouds to add to a dream wall during a Jan. 20 Martin Luther King Jr. Day event at the Dearborn Historical Museum’s McFadden-Ross House.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – Children learned about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. through activities and story times the afternoon of Jan. 20 at the Historical Museum’s McFadden-Ross House.
Attendees had a chance to color, decorate bookmarks, do a word search puzzle, and write their dreams on miniature clouds to add to a dream board.
Museum office manager and event organizer Leah Burton read stories about King to the children in attendance.
She began with a light biography about King, his vision, where he came from and what he accomplished in a format that is easy for children to comprehend.
“It is tangible for children to understand, while also preserving what he stood for,” Burton said. “So, what we’re basically hoping to do overall with this type of event is just to express the history of a prominent figure, what he stood for, the seriousness behind it and why equality matters.”
Assistant Curator Matt Graff said his favorite Martin Luther King Jr. quote is, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Graff said there are problematic points in history with respect to race relations, including in Dearborn.
“We might take two steps forward, a step back, one step forward, two steps back, so it’s not a straight path, but, as Dr. King said, it bends toward justice,” he said. “So, what you’re seeing here today would not have happened 40, 50 years ago in this city, at a city building, because we are a department of the city, so I think this is evidence of that quote in action.”
Archivist Mason Christensen added that events like the one held at the McFadden-Ross House on Martin Luther King Jr. Day is part of the process of making Dearborn a better place.
Children work on Martin Luther King Jr. Day-themed activities during a Jan. 20 event at the Dearborn Historical Museum’s McFadden-Ross House.
Above and below, children write their dreams for the future on miniature clouds to add to a dream wall during a Jan. 20 Martin Luther King Jr. Day event at the Dearborn Historical Museum’s McFadden-Ross House.
Children work on Martin Luther King Jr. Day-themed activities during a Jan. 20 event at the Dearborn Historical Museum’s McFadden-Ross House.
Children write their dreams for the future on miniature clouds to add to a dream wall during a Jan. 20 Martin Luther King Jr. Day event at the Dearborn Historical Museum’s McFadden-Ross House.
Dearborn Historical Museum Office Manager Leah Burton reads Jean Marzollo’s “Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King” to children during a Jan. 20 event at the Dearborn Historical Museum’s McFadden-Ross House.