Discussions At Eastern State On Relevance Of MLK's Famous Letter
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Martin Luther King, Jr went to jail 29 times in pursuit of civil rights and integration. He used prison to show the world that laws of segregation were unjust.
Eastern State Penitentiary in Fairmount is celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his 1963 "Letter from Birmingham Jail."
An actor read excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1963 Letter.
Civil Rights scholar Jesse Curtis leads discussions and visitors were given the opportunity to respond to the letter's relevance today:
"Even if I didn't say anything like Ferguson, people were raising it themselves the audience was. People are making those connections just when they hear the words of King's letter over 50 years later, it resonates so much and I don't even need to point it out, they point it out first and then we can talk about it."
The reading and discussions are taking place this weekend at Eastern State and on Monday for the MLK holiday.