This week, the children have been discussing and thinking about a very important and influential person.

The person in question has a national holiday named after them which was Monday 16^th January, but only if you live in America.

I decided to bring this to the children’s attention because his message and his beliefs are still felt across the world today. Without this person, and many others like him, certain aspects of life such as equality and tolerance, that many of us take for granted, may not be as positive today.

The person I am talking about is Martin Luther King Junior.

In the assembly on Monday, the school talked about what he is most well-known for, why he was and still is influential and how closely his beliefs are matched to our British Values.

We thought that:

• Mutual respect and respect for all citizens is a British Value that links perfectly with the messages King would often talk about,
• Laws of the country apply to all citizens equally is a British Value that King definitely wanted to see applied across his country during that time when things weren’t always equal.

In their class assemblies this week, the children were asked to explore what life would be like if we had different rules for different people, depending on their appearance.

‘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. ‘ – Martin Luther King, Jr.

‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.’ – Martin Luther King, Jr.

I think we learned a lot from Martin Luther King Junior this week!