Salon marked Martin Luther King Day 2016 by sharing a powerful essay by UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski on how growing up during the civil rights struggle in Alabama shaped his outlook on education and opportunity. Excerpted from Pres. Hrabowski’s book Holding Fast to Dreams, the essay details his experience marching in the Children’s Crusade of May 1963—an event that profoundly impacted his life and the course of the civil rights movement.
“My students often ask me, ‘Doc, what was it like to be twelve and black in Birmingham?’” President Hrabowski begins. His complex answer draws on memories of growing up in a family and community that empowered children and treasured education, combined with “a harsher set of messages that told us we were second-class” through segregation and discrimination.
Dr. Hrabowski writes:
I received the message again in second grade when the teacher handed out books with brown paper concealing the covers. Our teacher told us not to remove the paper cover but, overtaken by curiosity, I peeled it back and discovered the name of a white school underneath. I went to her and asked, “Why do they give us their books when they throw them away?” The first thing she said was, “Boy, I told you not to peel that paper off that book.” Then she was embarrassed. She looked at me and said, “Yes, the book is second-rate, but you are a child of God. You’re first-rate. Get the knowledge. You don’t have time to be a victim.
Ultimately, Pres. Hrabowski focuses on the necessity for equity in education and the power of resilience, including how teachers and families can support students as they work through the struggles they face in life:
The experience of marching in the Children’s Crusade in May 1963 taught me that even children can make decisions that have an impact on the rest of their lives, and that they know the difference between right and wrong. It also taught me that children can struggle to overcome challenges and be stronger as a result. When children have support, any struggle, whether it’s standing up for civil rights or learning to read or solving math problems, can teach lessons about the importance of persistence. We all face struggles throughout our lives. What’s important is how we respond. As children confront different problems and learn to handle them, they develop confidence. Success breeds success.
In addition to the Salon article, the Chicago Tribune published a moving feature on Pres. Hrabowski’s talk at Valparaiso University’s 27th annual convocation honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., with the theme “Facing the Challenge of Change.” His address focused on both how much progress our nation has made and how much work remains, particularly increasing access to higher education for children in low-income families.
“You must come to see the light in every child,” Pres. Hrabowski told the crowd, “how you want to make a difference in that child’s life.”
Image: Pres. Hrabowski speaks with a student at Baltimore’s Lakeland Elementary/Middle School, January 2016. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.
