Former tobacco field where MLK Jr worked to be preserved

SIMSBURY, Conn. (AP) — A plot of land in Connecticut that was once a thriving tobacco farm where Martin Luther King Jr. worked as a college student in the 1940s is being protected for its historic and cultural significance to the state’s civil rights history. The finalized sale of the property was announced on Friday. The nonprofit Trust for Public Land and the town of Simsbury will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 16 for the Meadowood site, which includes both recreational lands and farmland. There will also be exhibits on King’s experiences in the 1940s in Connecticut, which historians believe influenced his decision to become a preacher and civil rights leader.