Martin Luther King’s Birthday Marked by Protests Over Deaths of Black Men

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Michael Paulson
Protesters staged a "die-in" along H Street Northwest in Chinatown in Washington on Monday. Credit Jabin Botsford/The New York Times
The nation’s celebration of Dr. King’s birthday on Monday was punctuated by protest, as a new generation of activists, angered by the deaths of several unarmed African-Americans in confrontations with the police, demanded that the traditional holiday rituals of speechmaking, community service and prayer breakfasts give way to denunciations of injustice and inequality. “The events that have happened have kind of diminished his dream a little bit,” said Aleah Hutchinson, 17, who attended a King event in Athens, Ala., and won a local essay contest connected to the holiday. [link]