GREENWICH — Former U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman visited the classrooms of his two grandchildren at Carmel Academy in Greenwich just prior to Martin Luther King Day, to speak with students about the slain Civil Rights leader. He also spoke poignantly about his own experiences during this transformative era in American history and the influences that both King and the movement had on him personally and professionally.

After reading to kindergartners the book Martin’s Big Words, Lieberman told them, “[Martin Luther King] said a wonderful thing once — ‘always be the best of what you are and what you are doing. If you’re a street sweeper or a garbage collector, be the best street sweeper or garbage collector you can be.’”

Lieberman recounted for Carmel’s third graders the summer of 1963 when he was in Washington interning for the late Senator Abraham Ribicoff and joined in the March on Washington and witnessed King give his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. He also talked about the Civil Rights movement’s relation to Judaism – specifically the lessons of the Torah such as doing the right thing, justice and freedom.

When one student asked Lieberman, who met with King several times over the course of his career, what his reaction was when King was killed, Lieberman responded: “I was heartsick; I cried. It was an awful day…. I always look at it from the perspective of the Torah, if you can imagine if the Egyptians had killed Moshe.”

Lieberman said he personally felt that much of the groundwork of civil rights paved the way for him to become the first Jewish American to run for the second highest office in the country – that of vice president.

“Joseph Lieberman’s thoughts about the Civil Rights era and first-hand stories about living during this time and working towards civil rights was truly a perspective our students and faculty will never forget,” said third-grade teacher Robin Shainberg.

CAP: Former Sen.Joseph Lieberman visited Carmel Academy’s third grade to talk about his experiences during the Civil Rights era.