In celebration of slain civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will attend a church service at the Vermont Avenue Baptist Church in Washington D.C. today.
Speaking at the historic 144-year-old African American congregation nearly 42 years ago–mere months before his death–Dr. King delivered a sermon entitled “In Search of a Direction,” at a time when his stance on the Vietnam War made him unpopular. President Obama is expected to deliver remarks reflecting on Dr. King’s words
“[Dr. King] pushed for what was right for our nation and that ought to be a guide for us now right now in the shadow of eh health care debate, the disaster in Haiti and what else is going on in the world,” said Reverend Cornelius Wheeler of the Vermont Avenue Baptist Church.