Martin Luther King Day in the mountains

Above: A video montage of clips from the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement, set to Nina Simone's heartbreaking song, "Why (The King Of Love Is Dead).

Ulster County legislator Mike Madsen has a tribute to King on his blog today.

You could say the issues that face America then still face her today. There is still much to do and precious little time to do it. You could argue that in a way, his death accelerated the possible achievements that followed. However, we will never know what realities lay ahead had he lived. So take this time to look at our continuing fight for equality while embracing the events that got us to this point today.

Catskill held a peace march in honor of the holiday on Saturday, and hosted speakers at the First Reform Church of Catskill, including Assemblyman Pete Lopez. WNYT has video. (Hat tip to WGXC's news blog.)

Woodstock celebrated MLK Day with music, speechifying at the Community Center, and a visit from Congressman Maurice Hinchey. The Daily Freeman has an account.

From the Department of Bitter Irony: A Daily Star story about MLK Day, claiming that the holiday has helped foster progress toward racial equality in the area, is attracting anonymous commenters calling for the dissolution of the NAACP and complaining that the holiday is a "nuisance."

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