P | A | S | H | A | O | S | L | O | S | O | N | |||
F | R | E | E | D | C | A | R | O | M | U | Z | I | ||
F | I | T | F | O | R | A | K | I | N | G | P | A | X | |
T | A | O | A | B | E | L | M | E | R | E | ||||
N | A | T | I | O | N | A | L | P | A | R | K | S | ||
S | C | H | M | I | D | T | N | E | A | R | ||||
H | E | A | P | S | S | K | E | T | C | H | U | P | ||
U | R | L | T | R | E | A | D | I | N | O | ||||
T | A | L | K | S | H | O | W | L | O | T | U | S | ||
I | C | E | D | A | B | O | U | T | M | E | ||||
T | H | E | W | H | O | L | E | T | R | U | T | H | ||
H | E | M | I | A | M | O | R | E | C | O | ||||
E | L | M | C | I | V | I | L | R | I | G | H | T | S | |
F | L | Y | O | D | E | L | L | T | I | A | R | A | ||
T | A | S | D | O | R | Y | S | L | Y | L | Y |
I became interested in crosswords after trying to solve some with my wife's grandmother (shout out to Grandma Pat in Algona, Iowa!). When visiting her, we would sit around the kitchen table, drink coffee, and (try to) solve the crossword. Once I got the hang of solving, I felt that constructing would be a fun challenge. Thanks to the Will and Sam for coaching me through a few revisions of this puzzle and teaching me a lot along the way.
The idea for this puzzle was born out of a political theme I was trying to pull together. I was looking at last names of politicians that were homonyms (Bush, Gore, May, etc.) when I came to Martin Luther King Jr's name and reflected on "King" as part of a potential theme answer. I realized there were other prominent civil rights leaders whose last names shared the same characteristic. Sojourner Truth and Rosa Parks quickly followed. I hope solvers enjoy the theme and find it fitting for the day. We owe a large debt to the civil rights leaders of the past, and I hope this puzzle serves as a reminder that there is more progress to be made.