Two Brothers and M.L.

Once there were two brothers who lived in Atlanta, Georgia. Their house was right next to the small neighborhood grocery store owned by their father.

For as long as they could remember, they had been best friends with a boy who lived across the street. His name was M.L. His father was a preacher.

M.L. and the two brothers played together almost every day from the time they were first able to walk until they were six years old.

When the three boys became old enough to enter first grade, they were sad to find out they had to attend different schools. It didn't make sense to the boys. After all, they were best friends. They comforted themselves with the thought: "Well, at least we can play together after school and on the weekends."

Finally the first day of school arrived. The two brothers, with their blond hair, blue eyes, and white skin, went off to an all-white school.

M.L., with his black hair, brown eyes, and brown skin, went off to an all-black school.

After school on that first day, M.L. ran across the street to his friends' house and rang the doorbell. The two brothers started to answer the door, but their mother held them back. With a stern voice, she stated, "Boys, go up to your room right this instant!"

As the two brothers slowly walked up the stairs, they looked at each other with puzzled expressions. They both wondered, "What did we do wrong?"

She didn't answer the door until after she heard their bedroom door close. There was M.L. He asked the question that he had asked dozens and dozens of times before. "Can your sons come out to play?"

The woman said, "No, I'm sorry. Not today. The boys are too busy cleaning their rooms."

M.L. was disappointed but not too upset. He turned and slowly walked back to his house across the street. With great anticipation, he thought about all the fun the three of them would have the following day.

The two brothers heard the front door close. They heard their mother walking up the stairs. She entered their room and sat down on one of the twin beds. She drew the two boys to each side of her. They listened quietly to what she had to say.

"Boys, I must talk to you. I know that you are not going to understand what I'm about to say now, but you will someday when you are older. Now that you are big boys and going to school, it is time you put certain things behind you. You are white boys and go to an all-white school. M.L. is black and goes to an all-black school. I know how much you like M.L. I like him too. But if your new friends found out that you played with a black boy, they would make fun of you. Therefore, your father and I think it best that you only play with white children from now on. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mama," the boys answered in unison.

Then one brother spoke up. "But when do we get to play with M.L.? He's our best friend!"

Their mother answered firmly, "Boys, you may never play with M.L. again! If I catch you talking to him or playing with him, you will be severely punished! That is my last word on the subject!" Then she got up, walked out of their bedroom, and closed the door.

The two brothers looked at each other in sadness and confusion. They didn't understand what had just happened. One of them started to cry. They didn't say anything because they didn't know what to say. They just sat and played quietly the rest of the day.

After school the next day, the brothers heard the doorbell ring. Once again their mother sent them up to their room. Then their mother answered the door to M.L. He asked, "Can your sons come out to play?"

The woman sighed and then began to speak. "M.L., my sons cannot play with you anymore."

"Why?" M.L. asked in great shock.

"It is because you are black, and my sons are white. You go to a separate school from my sons. Let's just keep it that way from now on-separate. Do not come back to this house ever again. Good-bye!"

The door was shut. M.L. went home in tears and confusion to seek what comfort he could in the words and explanations of his mother.

As time passed, and the two brothers made new friends at school, the painful sadness of losing their best friend gradually lessened. Their parents, seeing them happy again, truly felt they had made the only decision possible for the future of their sons.

Across the street, M.L.'s mother tried to pick up the pieces. She pulled M.L. onto her lap. For the first time, she tried to explain to six-year-old M.L. about slavery. She tried to explain to him about segregation as it existed in the year of 1935. She talked for a long time.

Finally she said, "M.L., you may not remember or understand everything that I have told you today. But if you don't recall anything else, I want you to always remember this: You are just as good as anyone!"

Six-year-old M.L., short for Martin Luther King, Jr., never forgot his mother's words. He spent his life working to prove to each and every one of us that: "You are just as good as anyone!"

Discussion Questions:

1. How would you handle it if your parents said you could no longer have contact with one of your good friends?

2. How do you comfort someone who has just lost his or her best friend due to prejudice?

3. Do you feel this event could have been a pivotal turning appoint in the life of this great man?

Please Note: In honor of Black History Month, I am sharing this story. It is 1 of 3 stories included in my self-published out-of-print book: "A Trilogy Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Stories" copyright 1990 by Debbie Rauch - my former married name. I dedicated this book to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and all the fine people who were instrumental in proving that a bad law is a law that needs to be changed. For every book that I sold, I donated fifty cents to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, GA. commonly known as the King Center.

Martin Luther King Jr Center, 450 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30312

(404) 893-9882; www.thekingcenter.org

Additionally, I gave permission for this story to be included in two other venues:

1. Vol. 2, No. 1, Dec. 1990 Tennessee Storytelling Journal; Editor Dr. Flora Joy

2. June 2001 TN Adult ESOL Curriculum Resource Book: http://www.cls.utk.edu/pdf/esol/esol_6_2.pdf