Martin Luther King Visits Bridgeport
By: Mary K. Witkowski, Bridgeport City Historian
The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. visited Bridgeport at least five times. In March of 1961, King delivered the Frank Jacoby lecture for the. University of Bridgeport. Due to the large crowd, the lecture was held at the Klein Memorial Auditorium. More than 2,700 local residents listened to King’s enthralling words.In the speech, King called on President John F. Kennedy to strongly enforce the civil rights laws.
In June 1961, King returned to the City to receive an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Bridgeport.
On January 15, 1962, about 1,300 people attended a rally in Central High School Auditorium. “We have to live together when the battle is over,” he told students and other residents.
In March 1964, an even larger audience at Klein Auditorium heard King call for the passage of the Civil Rights Act.
On April 8, 1968, four days after King’s assassination in Memphis, Tenn., an overcrowded Klein Auditorium participated in a memorial service for the slain leader.
