Bands, floats and children will line the downtown streets of Mesa on Monday, Jan. 21, as part of the city’s weekend-long celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.

East Valley communities will honor Martin Luther King Jr. in a number of events this weekend, leading into Monday’s holiday.

ATLANTA (AP) -- Yolanda King, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through drama and motivational speaking, collapsed and died after making a speech. She was 51.

African Americans have always believed in the power of the spirit. Believed that the spirit stirs and moves within us and, that when we die, the spirit lives on. Every goodbye ain't gone.

The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Parade was held Monday in downtown Mesa.

The late civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., is honored in Mesa Monday.

The following East Valley events will help commemorate the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

By Jewell Parker Rhodes

The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Classic is on again Monday with five games featuring some of the top teams in Arizona prep basketball at Wells Fargo Arena.

ATLANTA - The first Martin Luther King Jr. Day since the death of King's widow and the chief keeper of his civil rights dream was marked Monday with speeches, visits to the couple's tomb and the opening of a collection of his papers, including a draft of his "I Have a Dream" speech.

ATLANTA - If he were alive now, Martin Luther King would be reacting to the sobering news emanating from overseas with a message of peace and compassion, his son said Monday.

From a large glossy photo to his most famous words, the life and dreams of Martin Luther King Jr. were on display Monday in Gilbert.

Forty years ago today, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death in Memphis by an assassin’s rifle bullet.

Mesa’s battle for a holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. ended in November 1996 when voters narrowly approved its creation, but on Monday the struggle seemed like ancient history as thousands attended events honoring King in an otherwise quiet downtown.

East Valley school districts and campuses will be closed Monday to observe the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

Tickets remain on sale though Wednesday for the Mesa Martin Luther King Jr. Dinner Banquet event, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 15.

ATLANTA - Hundreds of civil rights leaders and others crowded Martin Luther King Jr.'s Ebenezer Baptist Church on Monday to the celebrate the man and his legacy.

ATLANTA — A scholar and activist invoked the fiery side of Martin Luther King Jr.'s rhetoric Monday at the civil rights icon's church, urging the audience not to "sanitize" King's legacy or let the president off the hook on issues like poverty.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Presidential candidates, civil rights leaders, labor activists and thousands of everyday citizens are coming together Friday to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the 40th anniversary of his death.

An awards ceremony and reception for Gilbert’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. children’s art competition will be 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Southeast Regional Library, 775 N. Greenfield Road, Gilbert.