Martin Luther King, Jr., he told us, was a man who dedicated his life to fighting for the rights of Black people in America. Even though we were not born here, he said, it is thanks to the efforts of Martin Luther King, Jr. and others like him that we are able to go anywhere we want, shop in any store, and go to any school.

I am going to make it a point to learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 16

Immacula didn’t come to school today. Faidherbe came up to me and told me that Immacula had called him on the telephone yesterday and had asked him to take the bus with me.

LATER

I took the bus home with Faidherbe. It was even more crowded than a camion in Léogâne, completely packed with kids from our school and another school nearby.

Faidherbe and I somehow found a pole to hold. Each time the bus stopped, which was often, we were pulled forward, pounding into someone else.

I was happy when my turn came to get off. I left Faidherbe to continue his ride. The bus stop is around the corner from our house, too close for me to get lost.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17

Immacula is back. She did not volunteer anything about her absence yesterday. However, at lunchtime, even though I was not trying to listen, I overheard her and Faidherbe talking about Immacula’s mother, who, it seems, spends a lot of time working as a home attendant for other people and very little time at her own home, which leaves only Immacula to take care of her younger sisters.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18

Tonight after supper, Papa made us sit around the radio to listen to the farewell speech of the outgoing president of the United States, President William Jefferson Clinton. (This reminded me of listening to election reports on Tante Rose’s radio in Haiti.)

The speech was simultaneously translated into Creole by a broadcaster on the Haitian radio station. The words I remember most are:

“In our hearts and in our laws, we must treat all our people with fairness and dignity … regardless of when they arrived in our country.”

I felt as though he was talking about Manman, Papa, Moy, and me.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 19

When I woke up this morning, I heard music coming from the kitchen radio. The radio was louder than usual. From the kitchen doorway, I saw Manman and Papa in each other’s arms, dancing. They both seemed embarrassed when they saw me watching. I wish Moy could have seen this, too, but he was out on an early-morning run.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 20

We listened to the inaugural address of President George W. Bush, the forty-third president of the United States. It was also translated into Creole by a Haitian broadcaster.

Again, I picked out my favorite part: