A symbol of peace for MLK Day

MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr. believed that everyone is born with natural rights and that the statement that "all men are created equal" in the Declaration of Independence was meant for men and women of all races.

As a student, King learned that there is a natural order of things and that once a person realizes that truth - for example, that discrimination based on the color of one's skin is wrong - he or she has no recourse but to act on that truth.

King, a Baptist minister, was also influenced in his beliefs by the teachings of Mohandas Gandhi, the ideological leader of India who led the struggle to win India's independence from Britain and end tyranny through mass civil disobedience.

In 1963, King brought the focus of a nation to Birmingham, Ala., a city that had closed public facilities and parks rather than allow them to be integrated. He and five of his friends were arrested after refusing to leave a drugstore lunch counter. The political firestorm that erupted in the wake of that incident helped ignite the civil-rights movement.

Both Gandhi and King believed peace between races could be achieved through nonviolent ways. They thought the force of one's moral character, as opposed to acts of violence, could change social institutions, including those so ingrained in our culture that they become accepted - such as discrimination between races.

Unfortunately, both men were assassinated, victims of the violence they fought.

To commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, I made a white dove, an international symbol of peace, using instructions I found at tinyurl.com/MLKdove.

Supplies you will need

* 1 sheet of white cardstock

* 1 sheet of copy paper

* Scissors

* Pencil

* String or thread

* Clear tape

* Black marker

How to make it

Using the photo as a guide, draw the shape of a bird's body on the cardstock. Cut two slits in the paper for wings and tail feathers.

Cut the copy paper in half and fold each part like an accordion. Cut notches into the edges of the paper. Insert the folded paper into the slits in the bird's body. Secure it with clear tape. Tape the edges of the tail-feather sections together to make a fan shape.

Draw an eye on the dove. Poke a hole in the center of the top of the bird and insert a string or thread to hang it.