Finish this song lyric...
"Dr. King, Dr. King, Dr. King was a _____ ______ ______."
Can you do it?
You can if you went to school in West Bloomfield.
Do you know the words to "Oh Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah?" Can you do the accompanying dance?
You can if you went to school in West Bloomfield.
What about the drinking gourd? Do you know what that is? Can you find it in the night sky? Do you know there's a song about that too?
Ha. You would if you went to school in West Bloomfield.
My school was a conservative's nightmare. "Merry Christmas" was quickly replaced by "Happy Holidays". We didn't have a holiday dance, but we did have a Winterfest. Ha. My school was PC before PC was cool ;)
And I love that.
I have a picture of me with my three best friends in kindergarten, and we look like a "United Colors of Benetton" Ad. This sweet little white catholic, was flanked by a white female jew, a black christian boy, and a white Frenchman (who was fluent). How awesome is that?? I was taught inclusivity at a young age. I was blind to people's differences...it wasn't a big deal. Did you like to swing? Well, then you could be my friend. Didn't matter what your skin color was. Did your mom pack an extra cookie in your lunch? Ha. Then we could CERTAINLY be friends...and it really didn't matter whether or not you celebrated Christmas.
Differences were a non-issue in my school. They weren't anything to shy away from, or be scared of...they were celebrated. Which is why I can tell you that the next three words to the song I started seeing at the top of this post (and one I hum to myself every MLK Jr. Day) is "civil rights leader". It's why I know all the words to, "Oh Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah" even though I am most definitely not Jewish. I even remember dancing in alternating circles while holding hands...."Oh Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah, Come light the menorah, Let's have a party, we'll all dance the Horah"). And it's why I know that "the drinking gourd" is a reference to the Big Dipper, which the slaves used to use to guide them to safety. They even had a song about it, "Follow the Drinking Gourd" which they would sing to alert other slaves how to get north without letting the white man know what they were up to. I can sing that song for you too ;)
I know these songs, thanks to Mr. Gordon Bleich, my music teacher in elementary school. We not only learned these songs, we performed them. At assemblies, for our parents, our teachers, and even HUGE concerts. We didn't sing a Christmas song without singing a Hanukkah song. And we didn't sing a Hanukkah song, without singing a Kwanzaa song. And we sang those songs not out of any obligation. Not to impress people...not to hit some diversity quota. We did it because even if there was only one Jewish person in the school (which there weren't, there were hundreds) their holiday was worth celebrating too (and we got most of them off too!).
I'm thankful that I learned a lesson of acceptance at a very young age. That I learned it's important to include all people, regardless of their differences. That when it really comes down to it...we're all the same on the inside.
We may have come here on different ships...but we're all in the same boat now.
Diversity isn't something that can necessarily be taught...it needs to be experienced.
I'm thankful that when I looked across my classroom, I saw as many people that were different from me, than were similar to me. I'm thankful to have grown up with people from so many different backgrounds, so many different cultures.
The proverbial "quilt" of my childhood is rich with fabric of different colors and patterns and textures...and I'm thankful for that.
I'm thankful that one man had a dream so many years ago...and that I got a chance to live it.
"Dr. King, Dr. King, Dr. King was a _____ ______ ______."
Can you do it?
You can if you went to school in West Bloomfield.
Do you know the words to "Oh Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah?" Can you do the accompanying dance?
You can if you went to school in West Bloomfield.
What about the drinking gourd? Do you know what that is? Can you find it in the night sky? Do you know there's a song about that too?
Ha. You would if you went to school in West Bloomfield.
My school was a conservative's nightmare. "Merry Christmas" was quickly replaced by "Happy Holidays". We didn't have a holiday dance, but we did have a Winterfest. Ha. My school was PC before PC was cool ;)
And I love that.
I have a picture of me with my three best friends in kindergarten, and we look like a "United Colors of Benetton" Ad. This sweet little white catholic, was flanked by a white female jew, a black christian boy, and a white Frenchman (who was fluent). How awesome is that?? I was taught inclusivity at a young age. I was blind to people's differences...it wasn't a big deal. Did you like to swing? Well, then you could be my friend. Didn't matter what your skin color was. Did your mom pack an extra cookie in your lunch? Ha. Then we could CERTAINLY be friends...and it really didn't matter whether or not you celebrated Christmas.
Differences were a non-issue in my school. They weren't anything to shy away from, or be scared of...they were celebrated. Which is why I can tell you that the next three words to the song I started seeing at the top of this post (and one I hum to myself every MLK Jr. Day) is "civil rights leader". It's why I know all the words to, "Oh Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah" even though I am most definitely not Jewish. I even remember dancing in alternating circles while holding hands...."Oh Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah, Come light the menorah, Let's have a party, we'll all dance the Horah"). And it's why I know that "the drinking gourd" is a reference to the Big Dipper, which the slaves used to use to guide them to safety. They even had a song about it, "Follow the Drinking Gourd" which they would sing to alert other slaves how to get north without letting the white man know what they were up to. I can sing that song for you too ;)
I know these songs, thanks to Mr. Gordon Bleich, my music teacher in elementary school. We not only learned these songs, we performed them. At assemblies, for our parents, our teachers, and even HUGE concerts. We didn't sing a Christmas song without singing a Hanukkah song. And we didn't sing a Hanukkah song, without singing a Kwanzaa song. And we sang those songs not out of any obligation. Not to impress people...not to hit some diversity quota. We did it because even if there was only one Jewish person in the school (which there weren't, there were hundreds) their holiday was worth celebrating too (and we got most of them off too!).
I'm thankful that I learned a lesson of acceptance at a very young age. That I learned it's important to include all people, regardless of their differences. That when it really comes down to it...we're all the same on the inside.
We may have come here on different ships...but we're all in the same boat now.
Diversity isn't something that can necessarily be taught...it needs to be experienced.
I'm thankful that when I looked across my classroom, I saw as many people that were different from me, than were similar to me. I'm thankful to have grown up with people from so many different backgrounds, so many different cultures.
The proverbial "quilt" of my childhood is rich with fabric of different colors and patterns and textures...and I'm thankful for that.
I'm thankful that one man had a dream so many years ago...and that I got a chance to live it.
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