I learned with great sadness of the passing of Dwayne Brewington. One moment stands out in my mind when I think of him. We attended a Martin Luther King Day event a number of years ago, bringing a foster child with us, about eight years old, who had great difficulty in learning to read, and who had been exposed to various kinds of violent behavior. After the program Dwayne engaged him in conversation. Despite the great difference in height, I could see that Dwayne’s careful listening to him and encouraging comments made an impression on him, as had the themes of the program that day. Dwayne then gave him an easy-to-read book about Dr. King. On the way home he opened the book and began to read haltingly from it, the first time we’d heard him do this. I hope we can all learn from this the value of thoughtful listening to others, especially listening to children.

Peggy Davis

Colrain