January 20 is MLK Day. On this day we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was an important civil rights leader in our country. He spent his life fighting for equal rights for Black Americans.
Dr. King was also a reader. He had a large library in his home. It was filled with his favorite books. He read the Bible and the writings of ancient philosophers. He read stories, plays, and poems. He read essays, letters, and speeches. And he read lots and lots of history. Dr. King’s own ideas about the world were influenced by what he read. He often quoted his favorite writers in his own writing and speeches.
Have you heard of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech? Dr. King gave this famous speech in August of 1963. He spoke to 250,000 people who had come to Washington, DC. They wanted equal rights for all Americans. Dr. King’s powerful speech was filled with words and ideas from texts he had read throughout his life. He referred to the Bible. He cited the Declaration of Independence and Shakespeare. He included ideas from speeches by Abraham Lincoln and from the poems of Langston Hughes.
This is just one example of how reading helped make Dr. King a powerful shaper of history. You can honor his memory this MLK Day by reading a book!
What Do You Think? How do books you read influence how you see the world?
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