As a young Afro-Carribean family living in America, we wanted to ensure our children knew who they were. One of the things that connected my husband and I was our knowledge of Black History and wanting our children to have better experiences than we had. We didn't want them to be judged by the color of their skin.
We knew what it was like to navigate life as a Black person. We embraced who we are and wanted the same for our children. We never wanted them to feel less than others because of their skin color. We wanted them to walk through this world with confidence. On one of our many trips to Atlanta, we visited the King Center, which honors the life of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. I soon became aware of his writing A Letter from a Birmingham Jail. At the time, it was a small book in the bookstore, but I remember my husband grabbing it, saying it was essential reading.
From the Birmingham jail, where he was imprisoned as a