Today is the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. If he were still alive, he would be 77 years old. When reading some of his writings, it's striking how in tune with modern conservative principles of equality under the law they are, when it comes to civil rights (his views on the war in Vietnam were clearly to the left).

Here is the text of his "I Have a Dream" speech.

And here is King's Letter from Birmingham Jail.

In both of these documents, his appeal is not to some leftist ideal of "multiculturalism" and a separate African-American identity, but to root American values embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He sought for blacks to join the larger American society in full equality, and for America to finally live up to those root values.

Sadly, many today wish to appropriate Dr. King's memory for their own political aims. Michelle Malkin has a roundup of left-wing and anti-Bush events planned for the King holiday tomorrow.