Do you have a dream?

Monday, January 19, we have a holiday from school because we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was born on January 15, 1929, so we have a national holiday on the Monday after his birthday. Dr. King was an important, intelligent American leader. He taught us a lot about being kind and fair to people of every race and color. He dreamed that people of many races, religions and cultures can live together without hatred and without fear.

I think everyone agrees that it is important to be fair, but history all over the world shows us that many people are not fair or kind to others. Dr. King encouraged us to fight in strong, peaceful ways for fairness, justice, and freedom. He encouraged us to fight for civil rights, for example, the right to vote, and the right to go to school. Dr. King had many successes working for civil rights. He won the Nobel Peace Prize, an international honor, because he worked so hard and so well.

Do you want to know more about his life and work? You can read more here.


One time in Washington D.C., Dr. King made a very famous speech to 200,000 people. Click to watch some of this speech about his dream.

Click here to get a vocabulary list. These words will help you with the speech.

Listen carefully to what he dreams for his children. (You can watch the video more than once when it begins.)

Now that you live and work in the U.S., you will meet and get to know people from many races and many cultures. I hope you will enjoy meeting and working so many different people. I hope your will not need to work with a boss or co-workers that have hatred in their hearts.

• What about your home country? Do you have important civil rights leaders?
• Do you have any stories about racism or unfairness?
• Do you have a dream for a better world?

You can post a comment to our class bog. Or you can send me email at venccsf@yahoo.com