America celebrates civil rights legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Amid remembrances and tributes civil rights martyr Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Blacks across the nation embraced the meaning behind the holiday. Coretta Scott King, widow of the slain leader, and their children called for peace on what would have been Dr. King's 75th birthday.

"Peaceful ends can only be reached through peaceful means," Mrs. King said in her annual King Day address during the 36th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached until his assassination in 1968. But this year, with African-American troops abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan, she also talked about peace at home.

"The noblest goal is not conquest of enemies but reconciliation with adversaries. We must remember in this election year that Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, we are all sisters and brothers."

Dexter King, CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, officially turned over the reins of the center to his brother, former SCLC president Martin Luther King III during the service.

Martin Luther King III, during his keynote address concerning his father's legacy, also echoed the call for peace. "It's very sad that we're engaged in war today," he said.

"We have to be concerned not just about us, we have to be concerned about all our brothers and sisters throughout our nation and world. We all have to be concerned about terrorism, but you will never end terrorism by terrorizing others."

Prior to other King holiday celebrations, the King Center saluted those who, in the vein of King's dream, promoted diversity, reached out to help people in need and challenged others to do the same. Target Corporation's chairman and chief executive officer, Robert J. Ulrich--who was represented by Bart Butzer, executive vice president of stores, and Rock singer Bono were honored with the Salute To Greatness award for their commitment to corporate citizenship and humanitarianism during the King Center's Salute To Greatness Awards Dinner.

Also Yolanda King and Elodia Tate, inspired by the hope of a world community and message that beneath the skin we are all the same, recently released the book Open My Eyes, Open My Soul: Celebrating Our Common Humanity.

At events around the nation Americans were urged to realize King's dream of peace and equality.

In San Antonio nearly 60,000 people participated in a 3-mile march, the largest King Day march ever, according to organizers. The Rev. Claudette Copeland, the keynote speaker, reminded the crowd that the holiday must be viewed as more than just a day off from work. "We cannot allow our holiday to be trivialized--to kick back, drink beer and eat barbecue," she said told the cheering crowd.

In Memphis, TN, thousands of visitors toured the National Civil Rights Museum at the former Lorraine Motel, where King was killed on April 4, 1968.

Meanwhile, thousands of volunteers participated in hundreds of acts of community service in Philadelphia and its suburbs in commemoration of the King's birthday.

The Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service attracted nearly 40,000 participants to more than 600 service projects in the region, organizers said, a record turnout for the annual program in its ninth year.

Among the myriad of other cities celebrating the legacy of the internationally acclaimed civil rights legend with parades, tributes and vigils were Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Boston, Roswell, NM; Oklahoma City, Cleveland, Providence, RI; Boise, New York City, Paris, TX; Hilton Head, SC; Miami, Elkhart, IN and Topeka, KS.

King's birthday became a national holiday in 1986, three years after President Ronald Reagan signed a bill to establish the third Monday of every January as King day. Today, the holiday is celebrated in the United States and in more than 100 other nations around the world.