Photo by the author
When Dr. King came to Connecticut in 1944, he was astonished by the openness and inclusivity the sleepy town of Simsbury provided in contrast to the roiling hatred he knew from his youth growing up under the shadow of Jim Crow in Georgia.
The 16-year-old college freshman was changed forever by his experience working on a tobacco farm that summer, and wrote in his diary about misgivings he had on the train ride back to Atlanta, his memory fresh with integrated dances and dinners that left him with feelings of fondness and admiration for the welcome he received in the Nutmeg State.