In Eastern Iowa classrooms, Martin Luther King more than a history lesson

Although many students in Iowa are off school today to observe the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, most still are learning about the civil rights leader's impact.

Because the issues he confronted often were personal, the teachers who address King in the classroom often have had their own interactions with human rights, segregation and racism.

Those experiences, teachers said, enhance their lessons.

Alvin Wright, Kittrell Elementary, Waterloo

Wright was a teen in Waterloo when King was assassinated April 4, 1968. Now, as a teacher, he said he often uses his own experiences with racism in lessons for his students — who are only a few years younger than he was that day in 1968.

'To me, it's important that kids understand it hasn't always been the way it is,' Wright said. 'There was a struggle to try and change things, to make it better because of Martin Luther King.'

He teaches students about segregation that plagued Waterloo in the 1960s and how he would change his demeanor during summer trips to his grandmother's house in Mississippi. There, he let white people go ahead of him in line and called them 'sir' or 'ma'am.'

'Students are real sympathetic to how things used to be … 'That's not right, that's not fair,' ' Wright said. 'Kids are more tolerant of each other now. It's not like they've been taught to hate. All that hatred and prejudice and bigotry is learned behavior. It's nothing they're born with.'

Jennifer Fishwild, Washington High School, Cedar Rapids

When she was about 10, Fishwild remembers watching her father put on a heavy coat before going out to walk the picket line. His union had gone on strike.

'I come from a big labor family,' Fishwild said. 'In fourth grade, the (manufacturing) company my grandparents and father worked for, their union went on strike. It was in February, and it was freezing.'

It was one of Fishwild's first forays in human rights, she said.

Fishwild went on to earn two master's degrees with human rights and civil rights focuses and has taught advanced history courses at Washington for four years.

'The more personal experiences you have, the more engaging it is for students,' she said. 'That makes it real.'

DaMu Diaz-Doolin, McKinley Middle School, Cedar Rapids

As a student support liaison, Diaz-Doolin said he spends time with students reflecting on their actions and teaching them accountability.

'I want to empower people,' Diaz-Doolin said. 'I want to empower families. I want to empower youth.

'If you know who you are, you tend to have something to fall back on.'

For Diaz-Doolin, whose father is president of the Cedar Rapids NAACP chapter, remembering African-Americans' contributions in history is essential to his own identity.

'It's important to know who fought for you,' he said. 'It's important to know your history. … (In the classroom,) I have that culture component in which they know the price that was paid, the sacrifices that were made.

'I don't think it's a once-a-month or once-a-year type of deal. It's something you want to implement throughout the year.'

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