By Adam Allington, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – The excitement over President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration on Tuesday found an outlet with Monday's celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's birthday.
Thousands of St. Louisans braved the cold weather on Monday to march from downtown St. Louis to midtown in honor of Dr. King.
The holiday comes as people in Washington D.C. are already gathering at the Lincoln Memorial for Tuesday's historic inauguration.
Marchers wore Dr. King t-shirts and carried banners, and they erupted in cheers at the mention of Obama's name.
The commemoration of King's birthday began with a civic ceremony inside the Old Courthouse, followed by an interfaith service at Powell Symphony Hall.
Rev. Elijah Hankerson of the Life Center International Church delivered the keynote address.
He said one of Dr. King's last speeches envisioned a time when a black man could unite the country and become president.
"I believe in a sense it's prophetic, because as he stated in his last speech he said, 'I've been to the mountaintop, I've seen the Promised Land,'" Hankerson said. "That final speech he gave was about 40 years ago, so within a generation you've seen that particular statement fulfilled."
Hankerson is traveling to Washington D.C. for Tuesday's inauguration.