Barack Obama chose to deliver a speech in Indiana, to pay homage to the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Had Barack Obama attended a service today in Memphis commemorating the 40th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, it would likely have inspired further comparisons between the two men, the slain civil rights leader and the rookie senator who has become the first truly viable African American contender for the presidency.

But Obama decided he needed to keep an earlier commitment to appear at a Democratic Party event in North Dakota this evening, even if it meant leaving the spotlight in Memphis to Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

Instead, he chose to spend the first part of the anniversary day here in Indiana, which has allowed him to evoke a second figure from the 1960s: Bobby Kennedy.

Kennedy was campaigning in Indianapolis when he learned of King’s assassination, and he proceeded to relay the news to a crowd of voters in a black neighborhood, urging them, in one of the more notable pieces of spontaneous American political oratory, not to betray King’s ideals by allowing their grief and anger to flow into violence. (More.)

As Shallow Nation noted earlier today, the speech of Robert F. Kennedy was eloquent and moving. But more importantly, carries the important message, still relevant in our era, to avoid a descent into strife, divisiveness and bitterness. Read more about RFK’s speech here.