Civil rights leader, Dolores Huerta honored the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King in a candlelight vigil at Fresno City College on Jan. 16.

“Coretta Scott King went throughout the United States lobbying and speaking to organizations and kind of made it her mission to make sure that we would have this day of celebration,” Huerta said.

The event was part of several events remembering the legacy of King and his work, 30 years after former president Ronald Reagan declared King’s birthday a national holiday.

Terry Cox, Chief of Staff to Councilmember Esmeralda Soria, who represents Fresno’s District 1, thanked everyone on behalf of the council office and the city of Fresno. He also gave a few words about the impact of Dr. King.

“Everybody should love each other regardless of their appearance, of their speech, of their walk of life,” Cox said remembering the words of King.

Cox added how important it was that “everybody [see] the kindness and love and not the retribution and hate.”

Huerta reminded those in attendance that “racism is not something children are born with. It is something they acquire from their families. We are all one human family.”

She added, “what we have to do, we have to breakdown the systems of oppression.”

Huerta led those in attendance in honoring the life of King by chanting “viva”, or “long live”; shortly after, the celebration led to cheers from the crowd which acknowledged King’s lasting presence.

Huerta said, “he is present here today with us in spirit, here with us tomorrow and the next day in the work that we do for social justice.”