Hundreds Gather at King's Atlanta Church

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20080121/D8UACBOG0.html

Jan 21, 11:16 AM (ET)

By ERRIN HAINES

ATLANTA (AP) - Hundreds of civil rights leaders and others crowded Martin Luther King Jr.'s Ebenezer Baptist Church on Monday to the celebrate the man and his legacy.

"We would be remiss if we did not commemorate Martin Luther King Jr., a champion of peace in a time of war," said Isaac Newton Farris Jr., a nephew of King.


Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledges the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial for his "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington, D.C. in this file photo of Aug. 28, 1963. Nearly 40 years after his assassination in April 1968, after the deaths of his wife and others who knew both the man and what he stood for, some say King is facing the same fate that has befallen many a historical figure - being frozen in a moment in time that ignores the full complexity of the man and his message. (AP Photo/File)


King was assassinated at age 39 on April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of a motel in Memphis, Tenn. He would have turned 79 this year.

Farris urged diplomacy, economic incentives and other nonviolent efforts "as an alternative to military intervention to end the war in Iraq."

Former President Bill Clinton, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin were among the dignitaries attending the ceremony.

FULL story at link.

Part of that hope is embodied in every candidate we have run in this election. Every candidate has learned the beauty of his oratory, the truth of his message and the glory of his energy. To say that his legacy is frozen in time is to forget that even Hispanic activists in my county last fall borrowed from the truth of his message.

http://princewilliamnobigotry.blogspot.com/

Martin L. King will never be forgotten in this country as long as people long for equality, justice and peace.