Martin Luther King, Jr. Remembered Locally

Like communities across the country today, hundreds of people crowded into the auditorium of the West Hartford Town Hall to commemorate and celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the message of equality for all that he helped to instill. 

The town of West Hartford held its ceremony Monday morning, which included opening remarks from Mayor Scott Slifka, a keynote address by Jewel Mullen, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, and musical performances by the Conard High School Jazz Combo, Conard High School Gospel Choir, and the Voices of Bristow.

A pair of high school students, Courtney Mae Fuller, of Conard High School, and Samuel Clark, of Hall High School, also read essays about how King's life and teachings have impacted them and America as a whole. 

West Hartford's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration is the largest of its kind in central Connecticut. The state also held a ceremony honoring King at the state capitol in Hartford attended by such political dignitaries as Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal.