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From D.C. To Atlanta, King Praised

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By ERRIN HAINES, The Associated Press

Published: January 22, 2008

ATLANTA - More than 2,000 people crowded Ebenezer Baptist Church on Monday to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s commitment to peace and equality and note the importance of his legacy in this election year.

"He understood that life is not about self. Life is about service - and service to others," said Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle.

Former President Clinton, Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin were among those at the service in the church where he preached.

King's birthday is Jan. 15, but the federal holiday bearing his name is observed on the third Monday in January. "Martin aimed high, acted with faith, dreamed miracles that inspired a nation. Can we act on King's legacy without dreaming? I think not," Franklin said. "King's legacy gives light to our hopes, permission to our aspirations and relevance to our dreams."

The war in Iraq also drew a mention.

"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 and president of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.

Farris urged diplomacy, economic incentives and other nonviolent efforts "as an alternative to military intervention to end the war in Iraq," drawing applause from the crowd of more than 2,000.

In Washington, President Bush hailed King as a towering figure and called on the nation's people to honor the slain civil rights leader by helping those in need.

"Our fellow citizens have got to understand that by loving a neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself, by reaching out to someone who hurts, by just simply living a life of kindness and compassion, you can make America a better place and fulfill the dream of Martin Luther King," Bush said at a library named for the slain civil rights leader.

Bush said that King's holiday offers a chance to "renew our deep desire for America to be a land of promise for everybody, a land of justice, and a land of opportunity." He said it should be a "day on" of volunteering - not a day off - and encouraged people to do community service year-round.

The setting for Bush was the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in downtown Washington. The building features a colorful mural that depicts scenes from King's life and celebrates his role in the march toward social justice.

"Martin Luther King is a towering figure in the history of our country," Bush said. "And it is fitting that we honor his service and his courage and his vision."

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