Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (observed)

Jim Shea, on Y103.9 radio, just mentioned a letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 16, 1963, when he was confined in the Birmingham, Ala. jail. Today, January 18, is the day of national observance of Dr. King, although his birthday was January 15 (born in 1929).

It's a long letter to fellow clergymen and worth reading. You can read it at www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html

That letter was written just six months after I heard Dr. King speak on the campus of Cornell College.

One of my vivid college memories was a car trip to my home in St. Louis. One passenger was a black friend and student at college and, when we stopped in southern Iowa for lunch, the restaurant refused to serve him. Without any discussion among us, we all got up and walked out of the restaurant.