I heard the song “Teach Your Children” by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young yesterday and it struck me that we need to be telling our kids about our past, and especially today about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement. Baby Boomers were active participants in this time; you might have participated in a march or seen Dr. King speak, and if you were old enough, you might remember the horror you felt in hearing about his death. So we’ve an obligation to “teach our children,” to tell our personal stories, and share our thoughts and feelings about that time.
The only way we have the ability to all pass on the importance of this time is to talk about it. History isn’t just the records of the historians or the newspapers or books like BOOM! by Tom Brokaw. History is oral history, family history, remembrances. You know the saying by George Santayana that those who don’t remember history are doomed to repeat it. Unless we want to repeat the evils of discrimination in all its forms, we have to make sure succeeding generations remember and keep the spirit of Dr. King alive.
Go here to see the lyrics; their meaning is pretty important for Baby Boomers and their children for this remembrance and others.
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