Recently in Thought for the Day Focus Category

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

and the Memphis sanitation workers' strike

  after 40 years

 (April 1968-April 2008)

Please take a moment to look at our display in the library foyer of books and photographs about the Memphis sanitation workers' strike and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  The sanitation workers' message, illustrated by their "I am a man" signs, speaks eloquently of the human need for dignity and respect.

You might also be interested in reading Hampton Sides' (MUS class of 1980) memories & perspective of these events in the latest issue of Memphis magazine.  Here's a link to the article, titled "The Strike Zone": http://www.memphismagazine.com/gyrobase/Magazine/Content?oid=oid%3A41290 

Other items on display include:

Going down Jericho Road by Michael K. Honey, At the River I Stand by Joan Beifuss, I May Not Get There With You by Michael Eric Dyson, and Pictures Tell the Story by Ernest C. Withers. 

“Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.” --  Prime Minister WINSTON CHURCHILL, speech at Harrow School, Harrow, England, October 29, 1941.—Winston S. Churchill: His Complete Speeches, 1897–1963, ed. Robert Rhodes James, vol. 6, p. 6499 (1974).

Here are some materials you’ll find on display in the library reflecting this month’s theme of perseverance:

“To Harry James Potter, … I leave the Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill.” (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, p. 126)  Harry not only perseveres in Quidditch, but in overpowering evil forces in the world.  Many heroes in fantasy literature rely on perseverance to succeed in their noble quests.  Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series is another great example of this literary theme.

What is the What: the autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers.

This novel is based on the life of one of the “Lost Boys” of Sudan who were refugees of the Sudanese civil war in the 1980s.  He was one of thousands of children who were forced to leave their homes and walk for hundreds of miles to find freedom, all while being bombed by Sudanese air forces, dodging land mines, and being pursued by wild animals and soldiers.   After surviving years in refugee camps, he faced the challenges of relocating to the United States and adjusting to his new life.  This is truly a story of perseverance in the face of adversity.

The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation by Drew Hanson.  Dr. King is a shining example of the perseverance necessary to achieve social change.

Not as well known to us as Dr. King was William Wilberforce.  His passion and perseverance led to the passing of the law to end the British slave trade in the late 18th Century.  His story is dramatized in the movie Amazing Grace.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is a classic study of perseverance in the character of the old man.

Unstoppable: 45 Powerful Stories of Perseverance and Triumph from People Just Like You by Cynthia Kersey.

Altruism: Sources from the Hyde Library

Starting Points for Discussion:

Children’s Book:  The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (can a person give too much?)

Movie:  Pay It Forward (could this idea ever really work?)

            Book: Ordinary Grace: Lessons from Those Who Help Others in Extraordinary Ways by Kathleen A. Brehony (which example in this book is the most inspiring to you?)

Articles for Further Reflection:

“The $91 Billion Conversation” (interview with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett) in Fortune:

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=18637389&site=ehost-live.  Gates and Buffett on economics and their decisions to give their fortunes to charity.

“Rats & Ratatouille: Eating and Altruism” can be found in our Today’s Science database at http://www.2facts.com/TSOF/temp/45563temps1500114.asp.  Rats who have been helped are more likely to help another rat.

“If It Feels Good to Be Good, It Might Be Only Natural,”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/27/AR2007052701056.html.  This article by Shankar Vedantam investigates “whether the brain has a built-in moral compass.”

From a Literary Perspective:

Two short stories by Eudora Welty, both published in the same collection, A Curtain of Green, show a sharp contrast in the way some people look at helping others.  In “A Visit of Charity,” a 14-year-old girl visits a nursing home.  In “A Worn Path,” an aging grandmother walks for miles to get medicine for her chronically ill grandson.  But each story features a completely different set of motives.  Read the stories, available in the Hyde Library, and see what you think.

Books on display this month in the Hyde Library:

Bennet, William J. The Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories.

Canfield, Jack. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: 101 Stories of Life, Love and Learning.

Clinton, Bill. Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World

Jarvis, F. Washington. With Love and Prayers: A Headmaster Speaks to the Next Generation.

McCain, John. Character is Destiny: Inspiring Stories Every Young Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember.

Wood, John. Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur’s Odyssey to Educate the World’s Children.

You might also be interested in this website with all kinds of information about Altuism:

http://www.humanityquest.com/topic/Index.asp?theme1=altruism