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  • -Once upon a time,

  • there is a man named Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • It's funny to think about it

  • because now we know his name so well.

  • But at one time, he was just a kid

  • like maybe you're a kid watching this.

  • Well, he was a kid, too.

  • Well, maybe you're a grownup. That's okay, too.

  • All kids are welcome here. I don't discriminate.

  • Martin Luther King grew up to be a great man, of course,

  • but things weren't all that great in the world

  • while he was growing up,

  • not everybody was treated like they were somebody

  • and I believe that you should treat everybody

  • like it's their birthday.

  • But they didn't do that.

  • People looked at the color of their skin

  • and that's how they decided if they were friends or not.

  • Not cool, man.

  • That didn't make him feel good, doesn't make anybody feel good,

  • but his parents helped him grow up.

  • He went to church. He learned about love.

  • He grew up to be a minister to help a lot of people.

  • He did all sorts of cool stuff.

  • He helped a lot of people learn about love, too,

  • but still he looked around

  • and said, "Things should be better."

  • He wanted to change things, so he did stuff.

  • He decided instead of spreading the hate,

  • he would spread the love.

  • He wanted to bring people together.

  • Where people were hurting, he stepped in to help.

  • He marched with them. He walked with them.

  • He walked arm in arm with everyone.

  • Sometimes it didn't go well, but he kept going.

  • Sometimes he ended up in prison,

  • but he kept going.

  • Some people didn't like him, but he kept going.

  • Some days were hard, but he kept going.

  • Love does that.

  • It just keeps going even when things are dark.

  • And, well, I don't like this part of the story,

  • but things did get pretty dark.

  • Someone who didn't agree with him shot him.

  • He died in April 1968.

  • Now, Kid -- Kid -- Kid President,

  • why are you telling us this sad story? Come on.

  • I know, I know it, I'm sorry,

  • but it happened and I don't like that it happened.

  • Now I got to tell you something.

  • When things aren't awesome, it can be tough

  • and things won't always be awesome,

  • but your response can be.

  • Martin Luther King's response, it was awesome.

  • Today I just want us to think about this.

  • Isn't it cool that we can change things

  • like any of us, anybody.

  • He dreamed and he changed things

  • and he dreamed and he kept sharing his dreams.

  • They became not just his dream,

  • a lot of people's dream, like this one.

  • That's a pretty good dream. Let's dream like that.

  • That could change things.

  • I had the honor of meeting Dr. King's son,

  • Dr. Martin Luther King III,

  • and you can find our conversation

  • in my new book,

  • "Kid President's Guide to Being Awesome."

  • He's a really great leader

  • and he even wrote a book called "My Daddy,

  • Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr."

  • It is so good that I want to book it forward.

  • I am pledging to send 30 copies

  • to a school in my town.

  • What about you, how can you book it forward?

  • Here's a few ways that people are doing it already.

  • Look at this, it's amazing.

  • It's really cool to see it spread.

  • Thanks, everybody.

  • Thanks for being awesome, people. See you next week.

-Once upon a time,

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