By BENJAMIN AFRASIABI | Special to the Palisadian-Post
The play we performed in my class made me learn why Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was so important. I also learned that because Rosa Parks was brave, it only took one person to make the country better.
It took a lot of hard work to do this play. When I first got the script for the play, it felt scary at first to memorize my part and say it in front of everyone, but we practiced a lot and it got easier and easier.
“I cried during the protest song when they sang,” one parent said. “I cried when all the MLK Jr.s did their part. It was so moving to see how much work they put into it.”
In my words, I think Martin Luther King Jr. is all about peace and love. And that everyone is the same, so everyone should be treated the same.
I learned how important his speeches were, and I wanted to make the people watching our play remember the “I have a Dream Speech” and the words he said in it. I watched him on YouTube do his speech twice.
All my friends did such a good job learning their parts and teaching everyone about the civil rights movement. They all got better and better because we practiced so much.
“I love doing the play,” Mrs. Schwartz said. “It provides the kids another way of learning, and an opportunity to shine and for some to even surprise themselves. I think participating in our performance allows the kids to relate more to the characters they play and perhaps experience/feel a bit more of what it was actually like to live through the civil rights era.”
I think all the classes and parents we showed it to at Marquez Charter Elementary School learned about MLK Jr.’s life and why he was so famous. If MLK Jr. was alive today, I think he’d still be trying to fight for equal rights for everyone.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
