A rally, community workshops and a televised showing of the Presidential Inauguration are all apart of Monday’s MLK Memorial March and Rally in Dayton.

The event will start with a downtown march at 9:30 a.m. at the Charles R. Drew Health Center, 1323 W. Third St., and end with a rally and other free activities inside the Dayton Convention Center, 22 E. Fifth St.

“We are excited about people coming together on one accord and one harmony to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” said Sophia Johnson, event co-chair.

Jim Hagan, event co-chair, said everyone should participate in Monday’s events as a way to show agreement with the idea that all men are created equal, a dream that Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

King died on April 4, 1968 after being shot while standing on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. He was in town to help sanitation workers who were in protest over low wages and intolerable work conditions. King would have turned 84 last week.

“If he knew that a change was needed, he fought for that cause. He died fighting for the cause of freedom and equality for every man,” Johnson said. She went on to say that Americans should pay tribute because “Dr. King fought so we could have the freedoms that we have today.”

Johnson and Hagan hope to fill the more than 3,000 seats in the convention center for the rally, which will feature an 11:30 a.m. televised showing of President Barack Obama being sworn-in for his second term in office.

Bishop Mark McGuire Sr. will be the keynote speaker at the rally, which will begin immediately after the march. Other guests include U.S. District Court Judge Walter Rice, recording artist Tonya Baker, Carolyn Perkins and the Rev. David Fox.

There will be workshop for all ages and an agency fair hosted by the United Way of the Greater Dayton Area.

Visit www.mlkdayton.org for details.