MOSES LAKE — The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin invited Maryamu Givens to speak about Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday Friday as part of a presentation for Black History Month. 

“I really feel the need to do something, and I can’t protest anymore but I can do my best to tell stories and explain some of Black folks' history to the youth,” Givens said.  

The group started off discussing important days in Black History month including Rosa Parks' birthday (Feb. 4, 1913), the Greensboro Four’s first sit-in (Feb. 1, 1960) and Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday (Jan. 15, 1929). 

“I learned that it was a big celebration, but I didn’t know that it meant that much to people and so learning about it and just hearing how much it meant to people was just really cool,” club attendee Sophia said.  

Following her lesson, Givens read a story from “The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales” told by Virginia Hamilton. The story follows a girl who started to be able to fly. The character is able to escape and spend her time in the sky. However, she wakes up and realizes it was all a dream. Givens donated a copy of the book to the club.  

The children sang "Happy Birthday" to Martin Luther King Jr. alongside Givens. 

“I found ever since post COVID, they just have such a hard time sitting still and staying engaged, or they are on their phones or devices a lot at home. To have them sit and listen to someone speak is difficult, but I thought they did a great job and they had a lot of fun,” Director of Operations Cecily Hendricks said. “I know they liked singing, and of course the cake, too.”  

The children also watched an episode of “Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child.” In the episode, Mother Gooseberg, played by Whoopi Goldberg, decides whether she is going to stay and continue to help the fairy tale characters after they took advantage of her. 

“They showed their respect because it’s a really old video, but I still like it for the little ones,” Givens said. “What I like about it is they’re not all black, they’re not all white, they are just people. It shows our resistance too. We go through everything and now there are these cute stories like Mother Gooseberg to show the triumphs of Black folks.” 

The day concluded with the children and Givens eating cake together as they waited to be picked up by their parents.  

“It was a good celebration of MLK,” Givens said. “I mean a lot of them were smiling and listening and a bunch of them came up to me and said, ‘thank you,’ without even being told to say it. I think it’s important to celebrate Black people and these kids helped me do so.”  

Club attendee, Kallie, said she appreciated learning everything and she said she would like to say, “thank you,” to Givens for coming to the club.  

    Children at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin ate birthday cake to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. 's birthday Friday.
  

    Maryamu Givens speaks to the children at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin. She taught them about important dates during Black History Month.
  

    Two Boys and Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin light Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday cake Friday. The club celebrated MLK’s birthday with a guest appearance from Maryamu Givens, cake and cartoons.
  

    While singing Happy Birthday to Martin Luther King Jr. Friday at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin, students clapped their hands, and one child clapped the tentacles of his stuffed octopus.