Wendesday Afternoon Diversion: Martin Luther King Jr. In Chicago

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 15, 2014 9:00PM

Martin Luther King, having shakily moved to Chicago, speaks to a crowd in Soldier Field on July 10, 1966.(Art Shay, used with permission)

Today is the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We've mentioned before of Dr. King's time in Chicago and how the establishment wasn't exactly welcoming to him.

Dr. King spoke to an audience of 70,000 people at Soldier Field on June 21, 1964. His speaking fee was $5,000. The video below from the Chicago History Museum shows the check written to Dr. King's organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, by the Illinois Rally for Civil Rights, the group that organized the event.

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