In a story this week about the recently unveiled Martin Luther King Memorial (see The Best Sites For Learning About The Martin Luther King Memorial), an NPR reporter interviewed a colleague of King’s. He said:

“Dr. King was a man who never, to my knowledge, met a stranger.”

In June, I posted about a recent study that found we “became” the characters we read about, and how I’ve used that idea in having students read stories about the importance of relationship-building to help students learn its importance. In fact, as I mentioned in that same post, I use a story about King.

Another study came out just today showing similar results.

Sharing this short quote as a prelude to students reading the story, and asking them what they think he meant, would be a great introductory activity.