By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer

The universal intention of Voices Underground, a community outreach initiative of Square Roots Collective, took another step further at the Kennett Library on Jan. 18, as small children and their parents heard the words and the story behind the rise of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as our country’s most prominent civil rights leader.

Reading from the biography, Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr? by Bonnie Bader, Kennett High School Assistant Principal Chanel August Ruffin introduced her audience to King as a young child in Atlanta, Ga., the son of a Baptist minister, and the discrimination he and other African Americans faced during the 1940s. Ruffin then read about Kings’ rise as an important voice in his efforts to end desegregation, his speech at the March on Washington in 1963, the loss of his life five years later, and his enduring legacy.

“Martin Luther King, Jr. used his words, not his fists,” Ruffin read. “And although he died more than 50 years ago, his dream still lives on.”

According to its website, Voices Underground is “a team of scholars, artists, and activists specializing in African American history and driven by the conviction that true, transformative, and ongoing storytelling is foundational to the work of racial healing.”

“Voices Underground’s mission is to promote racial healing through storytelling, and I feel this is a foundational exercise of that mission,” said LaNisha Cassell, executive director of Voices Underground. “We are reaching kids right when they are forming their own thoughts and opinions and learning how to think for themselves. This is an opportunity for us to start them early by sharing stories about an important figure such as Dr. King. 

“At the same time, their parents are also forming ways to teach their children, but perhaps they don’t have the words to teach them. This helps us be able to do that and assist parents in helping them bring those messages home.”

Based in Kennett Square, Square Roots Collective is a collection of for-profit businesses, non-profit ventures and formal and informal partnerships with like-minded organizations throughout Chester County that together create positive initiatives and influence.

Cassell said that Voices Underground is creating several programs in February that will coincide with Black History Month. To learn more about Voices Underground, visit www.voicesunderground.com.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].