This story, for 3-6 year olds, is written to reflect the age appropriate justice goal of Anti-Bias Education through recognizing "unfairness”.  As follow-up to telling this story, you could read the book by Shane W. Evans, We March, which talks about how people came together to fight unfairness, or help the children learn a favorite part of the speech by heart.  

The Story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This is a picture of a person I admire very much. His name is Martin Luther King, Jr. I admire Martin Luther King, Jr. because he worked very hard to change some things about our country that were unfair.

When Martin was living, there were laws that told people what they could and could not do, depending on the color of their skin. If your skin was one color, you could drink from certain drinking fountains, or sit in one particular section of a bus or movie theater. There were even separate schools for children with different skin colors! Keeping people separate is called segregation. Segregation is not fair. Today, there are still many times when people are treated unfairly because of the color of their skin, or because of their religion, or where their ancestors were from.

Here is a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with his family; his wife, Coretta, and two of his children, Yolanda and Martin.

Later he had two more children, Dexter and Bernice. Martin wanted his little children to grow up in a country where what people thought about you had to do with how hard you worked and how you treated other people, not by what color your skin was.

There is something else you should know about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ever since he was a little boy, he loved words. He loved saying words, writing words, and learning new words – the bigger and fancier the better! He even used to stand in front of the mirror and practice giving speeches using all kinds of wonderful words. As he grew up, he got very good at giving speeches, and people loved listening to his important words.

One day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his best speech ever. People came from all over the United States to hear his words. There were so many people that when he stood and looked out at the audience, it looked like an ocean of people, as far as he could see.

In his speech, he told people that he had a dream. In his dream, his four little children would live in a world where they would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. 

January 16th is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. On Monday, we have a holiday to remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and how he worked to change unfair things in the world. And do you know what? We work to change unfair things in the world too.

Images 1 retrieved from: https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/national-portrait-gallery-remembers-martin-luther-king-jr-jack-lewis-hiller-photograph
Image 2 retrieved from: https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/19249/