Leaders and community members from throughout the city of Fresno gathered at Fresno City College for a candlelight vigil to honor the lives of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Les Kimber.

Kimber, who passed away last week, was one of the co-founders of the California Advocate newspaper and an activist on issues regarding racial equality.

Some of the nearly 70 people who attended the vigil reinforced the views of both King and Kimber on not just the black community but the entire world around them.

“We are here to honor two brothers,” said D.J. Criner, local pastor. “One who had a dream, and another who had a vision based off of that dream.”

The two men whose ideals were being honored, had those ideals turned into a challenge for those in attendance.

“As we stand here today to honor two patriarchs,” Criner said. “My question to you is what are we going to do? Just because we don’t have degrees, or status or recognition does not mean that we don’t have purpose.”

Criner also added that one of the messages that he received from the life of Dr. Martin Luther King was to pass the message down to a younger generation. A younger generation that includes Elijah Breedlove.

Breedlove, who is 15, attended the vigil with his family and spoke on racial equality and Dr. King’s message with an interesting perspective.

“Since I have an adopted brother from Africa,” Breedlove said. “I really feel like equality between the races is really important.”

The next event in remembrance of the life of Dr. King will be the “Mountain of Food” food drive on Monday Jan. 19 from 9:15 to 10:45 a.m. at Fresno City Hall.

Video by: Cresencio Rodriguez