ATLANTA — As the nation remembered and reflected Monday on the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., leaders and everyday Americans talked about how far the country has come in the past 50 years and how much more is to be done.
At Ebenezer Baptist Church in King’s hometown of Atlanta, civil rights leaders and members of King’s family spoke about poverty, violence, health care, and voting rights, all themes from the civil rights struggle that still resonate to this day.
‘‘There is much work that we must do,’’ King’s daughter Bernice said. ‘‘Are we afraid, or are we truly committed to the work that must be done?’’
The event in Atlanta was one of many celebrations, marches, parades, and community service projects held Monday across the nation to honor the slain civil rights leader.
It was about 50 years ago today that King had just appeared on the cover of Time magazine as its Man of the Year, and the nation was on the cusp of passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. King would win the Nobel Peace Prize later that year.
Governor Nathan Deal said not many states could boast a native son that merited a national holiday. ‘‘But we Georgians can,’’ he told the audience.
Deal said this year he would work with state legislators to find a way to honor King at the Georgia Capitol, which drew a standing ovation. He did not give any specifics, but civil rights leaders have suggested a statue. The only current tribute to King at the state Capitol is a portrait inside the State House.
‘‘I think that more than just saying kind thoughts about him we ought to take action ourselves,’’ said Deal, a Republican. ‘‘That’s how we embed truth into our words. I think it’s time for Georgia’s leaders to follow in Dr. King’s footsteps and take action, too.’’
In the fall, a statue of 19th-century white supremacist politician and newspaperman Tom Watson was removed from the Capitol.
Deal also touched on criminal justice reforms his administration has tried to make, including drug and mental health courts, saying too many people are not being rehabilitated in prisons.
‘‘Let’s build a monument, but the monument should inspire us to build a better world,’’ said the Atlanta event’s keynote speaker, the Rev. Raphael Warnock. He also said the growing disparities in income, opportunity, and health care are indications of a continuing struggle for equality decades after King’s death.
The event closed with the choir singing ‘‘We Shall Overcome,’’ with visitors singing verses in Spanish, Hebrew, and Italian as audience members joined hands and swayed in unison.
President Obama honored King’s legacy of service by helping a soup kitchen prepare its daily meals. Obama took his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha to DC Central Kitchen, which is a few minutes from the White House.
In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio marked the day by talking about economic inequality, saying it was ‘‘closing doors for hard-working people in this city and all over this country.’’
‘‘We have a city sadly divided between those with opportunity, with the means to fully partake of that opportunity, and those whose dreams of a better life are being deferred again and again,’’ he told an audience at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Singer and activist Harry Belafonte headlined the 28th annual Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium at the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus.
‘‘I’m not too sure where America is at this moment,’’ he said.