43 years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, TN. Today is as good a time as any to refer you back to Art Shay's essay and gallery highlighting the civil rights icon's time in Chicago and covering his assassination with the historian Gary Wills. Of all the peeks into Art's vault, this one still resonates as our favorite; certainly it's his most powerful and poignant. more ›

Kevin tipped us off to this next video, in which Dr. King speaks to the Local 1199 hospital workers and health care employees union in 1968. Dr. King's speech is very pointed here, as he criticizes the war in Vietnam and asks why government can't fight poverty and unemployment with the same zeal they fought Communism. more ›

Moving forward with our own observance of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King today, we bring you his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech from 1964, one of our favorite speeches of Dr. King's. more ›

Starting tomorrow and running through the 21st, buildings downtown will be bathed in blue light to commemorate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King. more ›

After our morning at the Capitol, we made our way over to the Lincoln Memorial for the "We Are One" Concert which was to feature a range of political, celebrity, and musical appearances before an expected crowd of up to 500,000. We were plenty early as we made our way through the masses and it gave us a chance to scan the hundreds of items available to buy from the countless vendors. Shirts, towels, buttons, flags, you name it, it probably has Obama's picture on it and you're going to pay a a lot of pennies for it. Once inside the grounds, we found the press section nestled below the right side of the stage with a nice view, though the set pieces and a jumbotron obscured our view of one of the two onstage podiums as well as the actual Lincoln Memorial, but, still, we weren't complaining. We dodged CNN's John Roberts as he filmed a report from our corral and set up position for the show. more ›

It's hard to avoid if you're keeping up with the mainstream media, but in case you've missed it, today is the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. King is remembered in today's Tribune, the Sun-Times speaks to Jesse Jackson, who was present at the assassination, and WBEZ's Eight Forty-Eight focuses on the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation's efforts to fight substandard housing in the neighborhood as well as their tribute to King, a former resident of the neighborhood who also fought segregated housing issues in the neighborhood. more ›

more ›

Today's must-read: The Reader's Whet Moser discovers the Chicago Tribune was not such a big Martin Luther King fan back in the day. more ›

At a Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Scholarship Breakfast this morning, Governor Blagojevich gave a three-minute speech, and included this charming verse, aimed at the seniors in the audience. more ›

Born on January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King would have been 79 this year. In 1984 an act of Congress made the third Monday of this month Martin Luther King Day. With most government offices closed today, there are a plethora of events honoring his memory. The Chicago Park District is holding a series of events dedicated to his legacy. The University of Chicago is hosting panels and speakers all week, with a series of films and documentaries this evening starting at 5 p.m. The DuSable Museum of African American History is holding workshops, performances and panel discussions on the legacy of the civil rights movement and the challenges it still faces in 21st century America. The Chicago History Museum kicks the day off with crafts and storytelling for children, followed by songs and spirituals performed by the Chicago Chamber Choir. At 1 p.m., LeRoyce Hawkins and Cameron Drake will perform Jeff Stetson's critically acclaimed "The Meeting", an imagined meeting between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, followed by a reading of King's "I have a Dream" speech. more ›

Barack Obama took the first step in cooling off the war of words between his campaign and Hillary Clinton's. "I've been a little concerned about the tenor of the campaign," Obama said in a press conference called yesterday evening in Nevada. "We've got too much at stake at this time in our history to be engaging in this kind of silliness," Obama said. "I suspect that other candidates may feel the same way." more ›

We always thought it was pretty ridiculous when students at other schools got the second-tier holidays off of school — you know, your Columbus Days and your Presidents' Days. It seemed almost as ridiculous (read: unfair) as when the kid down the street got ten dollars from the tooth fairy while we got a quarter. Why celebrate some presidents' birthdays by sitting at home but celebrate another's when it rolls around? And didn't they "discover"... more ›

We love a parade. Chicago loves a parade, and today the largest parade in the United States, the 78th Annual Bud Billiken Day Parade will march through the South Side. The parade kicks off along Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive at 10 a.m., and if you don’t want to weather the heat, you can watch a live broadcast on either WGN-TV or WLS-TV. Chicago Defender founder Robert S. Abbott wanted to organize the youth who... more ›

So you think Chicagoist is sometimes too critical of the way Mayor Daley runs the city? Wait until the Reverend Al Sharpton gets settled in his new digs. The boisterous Gotham-based minister, with the pompadour that's fading away like a Neil Young lyric, is opening a Chicago chapter of his National Action Network this week, in part to add pressure to His Elective Majesty and Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine to react faster to... more ›

Shh, shh, quiet Hurry up and get in the closet Hip Hop Soul Magazine said, "The things that have been written about you would make lesser men wither or simply want to give up." I said, "So I have to walk with a certain humility. I have to walk with love in my heart for those that hate me. I have to. I have to get out and touch people in order for me to... more ›

Sorry, Chicago, no Troutman news on this weekend's blotter. But there's always next week, right? An 84-year-old man was charged with killing his 89-year-old wife early Saturday morning in Englewood. The couple were engaged in a domestic dispute shortly after midnight when Betty Smith, who had Alzheimer's disease, threw a picture frame at her husband, Charles. He then allegedly shot in her in face. Police say the two had been arguing more lately due to... more ›

In the US, February marks Black History Month, and while there are no shortage of opportunities to learn about important and significant people of African descent this month, the purpose and history behind the event is sometimes lost. While Africans have been present in North America at least since colonial times, black history had barely begun to be studied — or even documented — when the tradition formally began in 1926. It wasn't until later... more ›

Texas is thawing, the Northeast is freezing, and a sort of natural order seems almost restored to the Ist-A-Verse. Almost. Londonist HQ—that is to say, the city of London—was battered by heavy winds, making it a bad time to be a twelve-meter (nearly forty-foot) tall snowman. Still, not everyone decided to keep warmly covered. Meanwhile, back indoors, the Big Brother racism is now causing all kinds of headaches for international diplomats, and Londonist got into... more ›

It would be easy to write the obligatory piece about "the man and the dream" today. The fact of the matter is that the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is so much more than just the speech he give at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 in Washington, DC. Although he is remembered in the US as one of the leaders, if not the leader, of the civil rights movement in the 1950's... more ›

While the Bears have known for weeks now that they'd be hosting their first playoff game, they finally know their opponent. The Bears will host the Seattle Seahawks at noon on Sunday following Seattle's miracle win over the Dallas Cowboys. When the Bears and Seahawks faced off in Week 4, Chicagoist was jumping off our couch in excitement as the Bears trounced the 'Hawks 37-6. But does that October win give any indication of how... more ›

Tickets are now available for Recipe For Relief, the Jimmy Banos-led culinary benefit for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. On Oct. 6 from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at The Grand Ballroom at McCormick Place South, 2301 S. Martin Luther King Dr., the event includes music, a silent auction and cookbook signing with Rick Bayless. To be clear, Chicagoist is heartbroken than such an event is necessary but we have to tell you that as... more ›

The Bulls played a matinee today in celebration of the Martin Luther King holiday. Facing off against the New York Knicks for the second time in three days, the Bulls knocked off the Knicks 88-86 at Madison Square Garden. While a tight game throughout, the Bulls were playing from behond for most of the game. Having taken the lead late in the third quarter, the Knicks reclaimed the lead. But a key 3-pointer by Andres Nocioni tied the game with less than a minute to play. After 40 scoreless seconds, the Bulls inbounded the ball following a foul with 16 seconds left. Running down the clock, rookie Ben Gordan -- playing his first pro game in his home town -- hit a floater with 0.01 seconds left giving the Bulls the two-point win. more ›

Two-time presidental candidate, and two-time Maryland U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes is the current nom du jour the Illinois GOP is tossing about for U.S. Senate candidate. "It would be a classic race of conservative vs. liberal,'' said state Sen. Dave Syverson, a member of the panel looking for a candidate to go up against Obama. ''It would put this race on the map in this country -- just for excitement.'' Yeah, but that's not... more ›