With a portrait of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. basked in light behind her, Bonnie Holmes dabbed her dark eyes with tissues as she tried to fight back the emotions that were building up inside.

"How can someone not be emotional? How can someone not be touched?" the Ironton resident and longtime member of Quinn Chapel AME said later Monday evening, still catching her breath. "The music, the presentations, the testimonials - this night was a sermon unto itself."

Holmes was far from alone. Few of the 100 or more pairs of eyes remained dry as people of many races and backgrounds braved the bitter cold Monday to celebrate the legacy of the civil rights leader on his birthday at Lawrence County’s 15th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Memorial.

Though the Rev. King was killed nearly 40 years ago, his dream lives on in the minds and the hearts of all those in attendance and others like them across the world who continue to dream of a place where all people can live as brothers and sisters.

"Dr. King was a man who believed 'that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits,'" Ironton High School senior Skyler Small read to the crowd that quieted immediately out of respect. "Š A man who believed that people should be 'judged by the content of their character not by the color of their skin.'"

Classmate Megan Crockrel continued to elaborate on the theme "Celebrating America: The Beloved Community of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."

"So tonight not through ideology or politics, we celebrate America and one of her greatest sons. When America gave birth to Dr. King it gave birth to a cause, a vision, that would raise her conscience beyond imagination and change this nation forever," Crockrel read.

"He made it possible for our nation to move closer to the ideals set forth in our Declaration of Independence; that all people are created equal and are endowed with inalienable rights. Š For in the stars and stripes, Dr. King saw the blood, sweat and tears of a nation destined for greatness only if her people can achieve greatness."

Dr. King would have been 76 years old Monday had he survived, but his spirit was alive as his words flowed freely. Ironton Junior High Student J.D. Crockrel, organizer Robert Pleasant Jr. and New Jerusalem Christian Center member Katrina Keith used Dr. King's own words to illustrate what the day meant, quoting from several of his famed speeches.

"This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice," the group espoused passionately, quoting from King's Aug. 28, 1963, "I have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

"Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children."

The IHS Varsity Singers bounced their notes around the room to a standing ovation. Other highlights included presentations by county commissioner Jason Stephens and OUS assistant director of nursing Rose Roach about what it means to be an American, scripture readings and prayers.

The entire event will be broadcast on OUS' television network, channel 25, several times during the next week.

OUS Dean Dr. Dan Evans helped bring the event to a close with a heartfelt plea to keep the momentum going.

"We have been enriched and touched tonight by the words we have heard here today. The challenge is clear to us as we leave. We need to extend our celebration," Evans said. "Š I think that was Dr. King's hope, that each day, every day this is a part of our daily walk."

Nearly all agreed that, somewhere, Dr. King was smiling

- and still dreaming.