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Kyle, W.E.B. Du Bois, Miracles, and Gifts

Posted by | April 17, 2015 | BAMBINOS | 8 Comments

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Last night was the Swain School’s 3rd-8th Grade Social Studies Fair. To say that Kyle is passionate about social studies is a major understatement. He has long been truly intensely focused on history/political science/social studies. And for the past three years his teachers have been telling me about his clear gift for these subjects. He’s especially passionate about African-American history. So, for Kyle, the Social Studies Fair was a very big deal.

Kyle’s chosen project was a study of W.E.B. Du Bois. His interest in Du Bois is multi-faceted and includes everything from the simple facts that Du Bois is of Haitian decent and was the first African-American to receive a PhD from Harvard, to the comprehension of Du Bois’s influence on Martin Luther King, Jr., to the complexity of Du Bois’s large legacy for the Civil Rights and Social Justice Movements of today. Over the course of the past few weeks he has come to know more about W.E.B. Du Bois than I could really ever have imagined. The confines of a 4th grade project were way too tight for him — his field of knowledge and expertise on W.E.B. Du Bois quickly expanded and spilled over into the realm of overwhelming. I truly don’t know how long he’d go if you let him just talk to you about Du Bois with no time constraints; he may very possibly go on for hours and hours. It is hard for me to wrap my mind around just how much his mind can contain when it comes to this sort of stuff. His favorite person to talk with is a current Lehigh student he knows — a history major who is a long-time American History buff/prodigy — who tells me that Kyle quite possibly already rivals her in his depth and breadth of understanding of all-things-African-American-history-related.

Throughout the evening last night I checked on Kyle periodically as he stood at his ‘station’ during the Social Studies Fair. I must admit: I was a tad bit worried that he’d be overwhelming his audiences and scaring them away, and I felt a compulsive need to try to help him navigate the rocky terrain of trying to discuss something of profound importance (to you) with someone for whom the subject may not be (at all) quite as compelling [a terrain that I, as an academic sociologist, am quite familiar with!]. At one point, I found him giving a very long lecture on the topic of W.E.B. Du Bois to his sister and two of her 1st-grade friends. I watched from a distance as the three girls stood there diligently and patiently listening to Kyle’s very involved lecture. Kyle had a captured audience — they may not have understood anything at all (in fact, I’m fairly certain they did not), but they stood there for him and listened to him (or, at least, pretended to), as sweet little first grader girls looking up to The Big Boy. If truth be told, despite their inability to comprehend Kyle’s diatribe against the lynching of blacks in the American South during the 1800s and Du Bois’s pivotal role in the ending of such injustice, I am convinced that somewhere deep in their little psyches they were somehow positively influenced by Kyle’s passion for the subject.

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The whole scene made me stop for a moment. In the fast-paced delirium that is our life, it is easy to forget the incredible miraculous profoundness of my boys’ life stories. And their influence on others. But, last night, seeing the scene I saw, for a split second I actually lost my breath in amazement at the realization of what I saw before me. Not because I’m a sociologist who understands the significance of  W.E.B. Du Bois (although, for sure, I do), but because I’m a mom who — for a brief moment — could see the significance of the miracle that is my son Kyle. This boy who, almost eleven years ago now, was born in one of most infamous slums on the planet; this boy who survived 8 months in a Haitian orphanage as the most destitute of the destitute; this boy who has become so healthy-bodied and strong-minded that he is — to most he encounters — almost larger than life; this boy who has overcome the most infinite odds imaginable to be who he now, at age 10, already is — not even taking into consideration what he might become. This boy. This boy is a miracle to behold. And I get to be his mother. (And the role of W.E.B. Du Bois, and many others, in making that reality possible, is never, ever lost on me. Or lost on my son.)

Kyle has a gift (many gifts, for sure, but his intense passion for history is identifiably an indisputable gift). And his life is a gift to all those he touches, including — in a very big way — me.

Kyle Du Bois

8 Comments

  • shannoncl says:

    I saw the picture of Kyle in front of his project on FB and thought…. “W.E.B Dubois. Of course”

  • Katie says:

    Wow. I’ve been following your blog for a few months now, but this is my first comment. What a gift it is to see your son so immersed in a topic that is so important to him, and to your family. Great job, Kyle!

  • MorMor says:

    XOXOXOXOXOXO

  • Sharon says:

    Today, I was talking to my daughter about how the Universe intervenes when you don’t do things for yourself. The Universe has brought this jewel into your life. The Universe has brought you into his life. How lucky you both are….you appreciate his gifts and have given him what he needs to shine. In turn, he gives you love. How perfect is that!

  • Melody says:

    I can see what feels like a very possible version of the future in that top photo. Professor Kyle J-M delivering a lecture to his students!

    What an honor it is for me, as a stranger, to get these glimpses into their miraculous lives.

  • Cate says:

    In about 15 years, I fully expect him to be Dr. Kyle Johnson-McCormick–PhD in History.

  • Kendall says:

    What a beautiful intellect! I cannot begin to express how impressed I am by Kyle’s depth of mind. What a joy it will be to see where these great passions take him in life!

  • Anne says:

    This is one of my favorite blog posts. I have been reading you for a long time, and this one really sums up why I love your blog. Thank you for allowing us a glimpse into your family and life.

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