Race For Rights King’S Legacy Inspires Coeur D’Alene, Post Falls Students

Kootenai County’s fifth-graders seem determined to eradicate racism and prejudice.

Some 1,200 of them from Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls school districts attended the 14th-annual human rights celebration Thursday morning in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

One by one, students paraded across the stage at Boswell Hall’s Schuler Auditorium to make statements promoting diversity and equality, friendship and kindness to all people, regardless of race, religion or other differences.

Idaho should improve laws that “stick up for human rights,” said Megan Frank of Borah Elementary School.

“Let someone new play with you and your friends, even if he or she looks a little different,” said Justin Vandergriend of Fernan Elementary.

People should just try to get along better, said Claire Anderson of Bryan Elementary. “If you’re nice to everyone, they’ll be nice to you. Why is that so hard?” she asked.

Good question.

This year’s event falls just six months after the Aryan Nations paraded through downtown Coeur d’Alene, trumpeting their message of white supremacy.

“They believe being different is not good,” Pam Pratt, principal of Fernan Elementary, told the students. But, she said, “We know being different is good.”

To date, Kootenai County human rights organizations, in a crusade labeled “Lemons to Lemonade,” have raised more than $35,000 from people who pledged various amounts of money for each minute the march lasted.

Earlier Thursday morning, $8,530 of that money was distributed to schools to promote diversity programs. For example, Priest River Elementary received $1,290 to buy books and videos that promote tolerance and racial equality.

North Idaho College’s Human Equality Club received $1,500 to conduct a human rights seminar.

Josh Buehner, president of the club, served as master of ceremonies Thursday and asked the students to think about what King meant to them.

“I think Martin Luther King Jr. is in me and you,” Buehner said. “He is black and white, Jewish and Catholic. His dream is within all of us.”

Students from every school had created paper dolls, each one representing a different country. The dolls were pasted around a giant poster of the world, until the globe was circled with dolls symbolizing countries like Thailand, Mongolia, Egypt, Sweden, Scotland, Japan, Honduras and South Korea.

Foreign exchange students from Germany, Russia and Kyrgyzstan also spoke to the students about life in their countries.

Franziska Koenig of Germany is a senior at Coeur d’Alene High School. She talked about growing up and playing next to the Berlin Wall. She said she always wondered what was on the other side.

When the wall came down in 1989, Koenig was 8 years old.

“We were so happy,” she said. “All the people were so friendly. I couldn’t be here if the wall hadn’t come down.”

Umbriel Temiraliev, of Kyrgyzstan, formerly part of the Soviet Union, talked about freedom of speech. His great-grandfather was imprisoned because he spoke out against the government, Temiraliev said.

“People were afraid to speak freely,” he said. “The U.S. is the biggest and best example of freedom and democracy. Maintain this tradition and appreciate what you have because you guys are going to run this country.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: MONEY TO LEARN The Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations gave schools the following amounts Thursday to purchase educational materials to promote human rights: Canfield Middle School, Coeur d’Alene - $440 Heyburn Elementary, St. Maries - $700 Priest River Elementary, Priest River - $1,290 Fernan Elementary, Coeur d’Alene - $1,500 North Idaho College Human Equality Club, Coeur d’Alene - $1,500 Hayden Lake Elementary, Hayden Lake - $500 Tom Hunter, a songwriter who conducted classes in music and human rights in Kootenai County this week, was paid $2,600.