Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
As we remember what happened in Selma 50 years ago, it is upsetting that in many places, we are still being judged by the color of our skin rather than the content of our character. One of the ways that we break out of this is through reading. The importance of reading cannot be over stated. By reading a book, we can travel all over the world without ever leaving our home. In essence, reading helps us dream. The love of reading can easily be instilled in our children, because they are so eager to learn and imitate us.
This week, make a commitment to take a child to the public library or buy a child a book. Then, sit down and read it with him or her. Be sure to talk about the characters in the pictures and the artwork too. Be happy, be sad, be angry or laugh - do whatever is appropriate. Above all, make it enjoyable and memorable. That is all encompassed in "reading" to a child.