BOSTON -- As Americans across the country honored Martin Luther King Day Monday, the John F. Kennedy Library released new audiotapes that express Kennedy's views on civil rights.

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Janet Wu Reports On Civil Rights

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that ceremonies celebrating the late civil rights leader were held in hundreds of cities, including Atlanta at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached during the final eight years of his life.

New tapes from the civil rights era have been released by the Kennedy Library. They show a president frustrated with the pressures of civil rights advocates.

In tapes released by the Kennedy Library, the president commented on an Associated Press photo that shows a black citizen in Birmingham, Ala., being attacked by a police dog.

"I think it's terrible the picture in the paper. And as I say, Birmingham is the worst city in the south. They have done nothing for the Negroes in that community, so it is an intolerable situation, that there is no argument about," Kennedy said.

In that same meeting, the president recalled chiding reporters, outraged by the same photo, for being hypocritical.

"I had some newspaper man in here telling me, 'Isn't it outrageous in Birmingham?' I said, 'why are you over there eating at the Metropolitan Club every day?' You talk about Birmingham and you're up there at the Metropolitan Club. They wouldn't even let Negro ambassadors in," Kennedy said.

The next month, Kennedy delivered a nationally televised address, calling civil rights a moral issue.

In Massachusetts, King's legacy had a special meaning for a group of local students. The theme of overcoming adversity is a familiar one at the Perkins School for the Blind. Celebrations included a reading from Maya Angelou's book "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."

Rep. Marie St. Fleur recalled advice from her mother when she was turned away from an elementary Catholic School, which refused to accept blacks.

"She said, 'I am going to raise you Catholic, and this is to help you understand that there is always a way to achieve your goals.' If they won't let you into the front door, you will find a back door or you will find a window, but you will find a way," she said.