Peace Starts With You And The Person Next To You...BLACK HISTORY NIGHT PEACE BOXES

 

Before you were born there was a man named Martin Luther King Jr. He believed that all people, no matter what color of their skin, should be able to eat together, travel together, work together, study together, and play together. When he was alive people were not allowed to do any of those things together. People discriminated against black people by not allowing them do do those things. Black people were forced to be separate and not at all equal.

Martin Luther King Jr. stood up for what he believed he wanted a better life for his children.

He protested peacefully in the streets with others to tell people what he believed. He supported "sit ins".  He was killed because of what he believed.

We remember him because he made people question what they believed to be true. Do you ever question if something is true?

 *He believed that you could peacefully disagree with someone. 

*He believed that you can peacefully change something that you don't like. 

What is peace? 

Can you see it in a beautiful painted landscape

feel it when you hug a loved one

 hear it when you listen to beautiful music

Can you just sense it sometimes? 

It is nice to feel peaceful at home and at school. When I think about creating peace I remember the wise words of a very old man that I met in Hiroshima, Japan, he said...

 "peace begins with me and the person next to me"

  Think about what that means to you.  I think it is about working hard at relationships. At school we learn strategies to help us like using "I" statements when we are upset. We try to make friends with everyone...we extend kindness.  It is not always easy...but it is important to think about and to act.

There are artists who think about peace and relationships. Cbabi Bayoc is a St. Louis artist who is a painter. He is painting pictures that depict (show) peaceful relationships. He is painting a picture for every day of the year showing fathers and their children.

 

Frank De Las Mercedes is a New York artist who, for ten years, painted boxes like this:

He sent artistic, painted, boxes to anyone who wanted one, just to get them think and talk about peace. He sent his boxes all over the world free to anyone who wanted one. He said that peace was too important to put a price tag on it. He sent over 16,000 boxes.

In ART...

In each studio, you can take a box (vessel) and create a design, print, painting, mosaic, collage or drawing. Inside your box (vessel) you can put in things that make you feel peaceful or help you to think about peace. Maybe it is a picture, words or an object.

 

You might want to think about symbols of peace:

Key Stage Two

I invite you to write about one of the questions listed below. You can put this writing inside your peace vessel or share with others. 

How do you extend peace to people who are different from you..who look different, dress different, think different or speak in a language different from yours? 

Why do we need peace in the world? 

What do you do to make peace a priority? 

Do peace and love go together? 

What is peaceful protest?

(I hope that someday you will peacefully protest something that you believe in.)

Why is it hard to make peace? 

How do you help make peace, what do you do or say? 

Can you find a quote from Maya Angelo and write about it?