Photo By Eric Parris | Isaac Newton Farris Jr., a senior fellow at The King Center in Atlanta, listens to an...... read more read more
By Eric E. Parris
Fort Carson Public Affairs Office
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Isaac Newton Farris Jr. brought Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s message of hope, equality and service to about 400 students at Abrams Elementary School Fort Carson Jan. 13, 2022.
Farris, a nephew of Dr. King, was in the Colorado Springs area for two days to speak with adults and school-age children in honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Jan. 17, 2022.
He asked the students if they knew who Dr. King was and many did.
Farris also asked a question that he wanted the students to think about.
“If we know that Dr. King was a good man, how many of us want to be like Dr. King?” Farris said, as he walked around the students who sat attentively on the playground outside. “If we want to be like Dr. King, what do you need to do?”
Students responded to this and other questions, which gave teachers and administrators in attendance encouragement about what their students had learned.
“It was neat to watch and see how excited some of (the students) were and to hear what they said,” said Lois Skaggs, Abrams Elementary School principal. “To see them start putting the pieces together was really exciting.”
Even before the presentation, the students were excited about this opportunity.
The students said, “Oh my gosh, we get to hear about Dr. King and learn about him from someone in his family,’” Skaggs said.
Farris, a senior fellow at the King Center in Atlanta, said children are the most important group to educate.
Throughout his presentation Farris asked questions that kept the students engaged.
He emphasized that Dr. King used nonviolence as part of his message to counter violence during his lifetime.
Farris explained that the theme for the holiday is still A Day On, not a Day Off.
“In 1996, my aunt, Coretta Scott King, returned to Congress and asked them to change the designation of the holiday and make it a day of service,” Farris said. “It’s a day you should do at least one thing to help someone else.”
Even the elementary school students were eager to learn from Farris and about Dr. King’s message of giving back.
Farris continued to ask the students what they can do to be like Dr. King, and his answer was to do the right thing even when their teachers aren’t looking.
Another message that he asked the students to loudly repeat was “Stay in school.”
His message resonated with Skaggs.
“I was so excited that our students would have this opportunity,” Skaggs said. “What a blessing for our kids to be able to have this experience and really understand that it’s just not just read the book; this is real.”
| Date Taken: | 01.13.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.18.2022 14:22 |
| Story ID: | 416750 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 79 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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