Institute teaches kids about King's challenges

With a goal of making a difference through education, children have an opportunity to shine at the Diversity Institute.

The day of learning makes the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Jan. 21 meaningful for students ages 5 to 18. Students will be taught a historical perspective of the civil rights movement and will discuss respecting human rights.

REACH Inc., which stands for Regularly Extending Assistance to Community and Humanity, and the DuPage AME Church in Lisle will sponsor the annual event that draws approximately 300 to 400 children and 90 volunteers.

"Our teachers are very creative in how they plan the classes," institute director Kaye Lega said. "Besides learning about Martin Luther King, the teachers will show the children how they can take what they learn and use it in their everyday lives."

Classroom discussions this year are: 5- and 6-year olds will focus on the march and bus boycott in Montgomery; 7- to 9-year-olds will study the 1963 march on Washington, D.C., and Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech; 10- to 12-year-olds will look at the march in support of voting rights from Selma to Montgomery; 13- and 14-year-olds will study what happened in 1968 when King was in Memphis and his assassination; 15- to 18-year-olds will focus on King, education and excellence.

Special adult study groups for volunteers will look at the Little Rock Nine and how parents can help their children improve performance skills on standardized testing.

"We are trying to educate the children to know the history of the civil rights movement," said Connie Brown, who has taught at the institute since it began four years ago.

"I hope the students will understand a little more about the history of the African-American in America, and use the information in their everyday lives," Lega said.

"King's movement was not just about African-Americans, it was about all poor people. Although many of our children today may not be poor, they need to know their history or we are doomed, as a people, to repeat the same mistakes. We need to be more acceptable of all people."

Last year, the institute highlighted music and this year the special emphasis is on athletics. At the start of the day, there will be a dramatization on the life of Jesse Owens by actor Damien Davis.

Jesse Owens was one of the world's great track and field athletes. In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Owens electrified the games by winning four gold medals, setting two Olympic records and one world record in the face of Adolph Hitler's racial discrimination. His long jump record stood for 25 years.

After lunch, two noteworthy athletes -- Earl Jones and Carter Campbell -- will speak to students and answer questions.

Campbell made his professional debut in the NFL in 1970 with the San Francisco 49ers. He went on to play defense for the Denver Broncos and New York Giants. Today, he incorporates magic into his presentations to children.

The Atlanta Falcons drafted Jones in 1980 and he played cornerback for four seasons.

"We wanted some professional athletes to come who encourage education and find out how the civil rights movement affected them," Lega said.

"We want to know how players such as Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens were instrumental in paving the way for all athletes."

In the afternoon, children return to their classrooms to tie together all they learned. Students in Lisle Unit District 202, Naperville Unit District 203 and Indian Prairie Unit District 204 received fliers and registration forms for the Diversity Institute, but all students are welcomed.

Others may contact the church office at (630) 969-9800 or visit dupageamec.org.

Students also may register on-site at Waubonsie High School Jan. 21. The institute will run 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the school, 2590 Ogden Ave., Aurora. The $5 fee includes a box lunch.

Brown, who teaches the 7- to 9-year-olds, is looking forward to the event.

"Most of the children at those ages have heard the names of Martin Luther King, and some even Rosa Parks," Brown said.

"So it is important after the education part to take them to the next level and ask, since you can be anything you want to be, what is it? What do you want to contribute?"

Brown believes that adults who lived through the civil rights movement have the opportunity and obligation to focus their attention on today but "not let yesterday go to the wayside."

"How can we take what we learned from yesterday, without dwelling on it, and move forward?" Brown said. "I see some progress, but we still have a way to go, and part of that is on us to let go so we can move forward."

Brown and Lega are making sure that today's children are tomorrow's informed citizens, even if it means going to school on a scheduled day off.

If you go

What: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Diversity Institute

When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 21

Where: Waubonsie Valley High School, 2590 Ogden Ave., Aurora

Details: Children ages 5 to 18 discuss diversity and civil rights

Cost: $5

Info: (630) 969-9800 or dupageamec.org