A person is alive as long as he is not forgotten. This was the moral of the first story Gwen Hilary told the crowd in the Chicago Room of the Chicago History Museum on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Indeed, it was the moral of the whole event.
Hilary, accompanied by Enoch Williamson on a tribal drum, kick-started last Monday’s free event by colorfully telling several tribal fables as well as the story of the life of Dr. King. She did not need to address the fact that the room was packed, nor did she need to call attention to the fact that the enthralled children in the front row were unaware of each other’s colors. Nevertheless, it was evident and powerful.
It was interesting watching the children listen to Hilary’s stories of her childhood in the segregated south. They could not imagine such a reality, though they’ve been told what things were like 50 years ago. She brilliantly engaged the children in the topic, which not only helped the children learn, but let the adults learn from a different perspective.
“Dr. King was just a regular boy,” she said to the children in the front row, repeating herself time and time again. She made a point of emphasizing that he started
out just like any kid, but took his education seriously and worked hard for what he believed to be right.
She closed out with the fable of the freedom bird, which originates in
the Far East, but is nonetheless relevant
to anyone with an interest in courage and freedom. In the story, a hunter comes across a beautiful golden bird singing in a tree. He likes the bird, but doesn’t like its song. He warns the bird to stop singing, but it won’t, so he shoots it. The bird continues to sing its song through all the heinous things the hunter does to it. In the end, the hunter chops the bird up into a hundred pieces and puts the pieces in a box and sends it down the river. A group of children find the box and open it, releasing a hundred baby freedom birds, all singing the same song that the hunter couldn’t stand to hear. The moral, of course, among other things, is that freedom can never be destroyed. This story brought the proverbial house down.
Due to the larger than expected attendance, the staff of the Chicago History Museum was forced to move the rest of the day’s events downstairs to the auditorium. The much larger room quickly filled with an audience that was soon treated to the lovely harmonies of the Loyola University Gospel Choir. The high energy, a capella group gave the attendees of the event a moment to reflect on the meaning of the day.
The final event was a reenactment of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, beautifully brought to life by Illinois State University junior LaRoyce Hawkins. Many of us have seen the recording of the famous oration, but seeing it done live was really something special. Everyone left the museum that day feeling uplifted and educated, but most of all thankful for the peaceful legacy left behind by Dr. King.