The unseasonably warm weather provided a comfortable setting for the candle-lit march to the gospel lyrics of “We Shall Overcome,” as students and other members of the Eastern community expressed their admiration for Martin Luther King, Jr. and his accomplishments Monday night.

Beginning at 5:45 p.m. in Thomas Hall, the march finished at the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union, where participants were encouraged to stay for a tribute service to honor King.

This service is led annually by the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

The Grand Ballroom was filled as nearly 200 people stood to sing the black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” following a prayer by the Rev. Claude Magee.

King, a black Baptist minister from Atlanta, died at the age of 39.

He was the face of the civil rights movement, using peaceful methods of protest that he learned while studying Mahatma Gandhi.

King received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1964 for his achievements.

After Congress passed a vote, King’s birthday is observed as a national holiday on the third Monday in January.

“King was a 20th century prophet sent because the world needed a prophet during this time of turmoil,” said Jeffrey Collier, former president of the Black Student Union.

Collier, a senior political science major, was the keynote speaker for the first time at this event.

Last year he gave a personal reflection about King at the end of the session.

Collier drew parallels between King and Abraham, Moses and Jeremiah, who were prophets of the Bible.

King was the “father of freedom” and Abraham was the “father of the faithful,” Collier said during his speech.

The Unity Gospel Choir provided its soulful styling of “Jesus Loves Me” for the evening after a dance recital.

A video tribute including clips of the dog attacks and fire hoses drawn on supporters of the civil-rights movement finished with shots of Rosa Parks and King’s famous words, “I have a dream.”

Following the speakers, Brandon Robinson, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha who recited an original poem.

To end the evening the stage was left open to audience members who wished to give personal reflections or tributes.