GOSHEN COUNTY – The Goshen County Library helped local readers recognize Martin Luther King, Jr., Day safely amid the pandemic.
The library released new resources each hour of the day on their Facebook page, including YouTube videos detailing the life and legacy of King and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, a reading list for all ages, worksheets and a storytime video.
Goshen County Library Director Cristine Braddy said libraries typically celebrate the day with events and in-person resources, so the staff at Goshen County Library cultivated resources to share with visitors online.
“It kind of runs the gamut from preschool all the way up,” Braddy said. “It feels like now is a good time to revisit the Civil Rights Movement and what was happening during that time.”
The resources listed on the Goshen County Library website and Facebook page will be available through Black History Month in February and afterward. Books listed as children, young adult and adult reading recommendations are available either at the library or for digital download through the apps Libby or Cloud Library, Braddy said.
The library’s StoryWalk, which begins near the corner of East C Street and East 27th Avenue, features the children’s book “We March” By Shane W. Evans. The book tells the story of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where King delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech.
“It’s a super simple story but a great conversation starter,” Braddy said. “The story is geared toward little ones, so it’s a great way to start talking about what it would have felt like to be part of this crowd, the hopes and dreams you might’ve had.”
For Braddy, Jan. 18 is a reminder of not only how far society has come in terms of racial justice but also how much work there remains to be done, as evidenced by Black Lives Matter protests held nationwide last year.
“As a mom of Black children, I get scared that we forget how hard (civil rights leaders) worked and forget that we have to keep working hard. We haven’t arrived at this place where racial equality is what we live in,” she said. “I think it’s important to start with little ones talking about what this looks like.”
The resources shared on Goshen County Library’s website go beyond MLK’s most quoted statements and let people listen to and read entire speeches and works, including “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” written from a jail cell where King was imprisoned for nonviolent protest.
“It can get lost in conversation,” Braddy said. “There are quotes we all pass around that we love, but we don’t really sit and listen to all of his sermons, all of his speeches, often we don’t sit and hear all of what the Civil Rights Movement was about. We like the really pretty parts.”
