William Pollard III, 5, left, spins with the movements of a song he and other members of the MLK Youth Choir were singing at Monday night's observance honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Kansas University's Murphy Hall.

Nine-year-old Dakota Collins believes everyone should listen to Martin Luther King Jr. – if only to hear the sound of his voice.

“Every time I hear his voice, it sounds so calm,” she said. “He was a very great man.”

Collins was among about 200 people, young and old, who gathered to honor the civil rights leader Monday at Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Kansas University’s Murphy Hall.

The event, organized by the Ecumenical Fellowship, included a keynote address from the Rev. Lemuel Thuston of the Boone Tabernacle Church of God in Christ in Kansas City, Mo.

The event drew state and local public officials and representatives from public schools and KU. Audiences sang and clapped along to performances from the Martin Luther King youth and adult choirs.

The program included messages from Lawrence Vice Mayor Mike Dever, Lawrence Superintendent Randy Weseman, Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence, and KU Provost Richard Lariviere.

In his greeting, Weseman referred to the youth choir and asked the audience what they saw when they took in the children’s performance.

“I saw optimism – unselfish, genuine and heartfelt,” he said. “That’s what I see every day when I go see our kids in the schools. … This kids are actualizing (King’s) dream.”

Thuston spoke of the lessons about unity and liberty that can be learned from King.

“If it’s not really liberty and justice for all, it’s not really liberty and justice for anybody,” he said.

Monday’s event capped a series of programs celebrating King that have taken place across Lawrence in recent days.

Jimmy Lee Rose, a Lawrence resident who attended the event, noticed that all the seats weren’t full.

“This place should be full,” he said. “It should be standing room only. People should want to hear the message of: ‘let’s all get together and talk.'”

Rose said there are more steps to take for humanity to progress.

“People need to broaden their minds and understand that in order for us to better ourselves we need to see things from other people’s perspective – not only the black and white thing, but the world in general,” he said. “We’re at war and we’re not seeing all sides of it. We’re just taking what is given to us by leaders and politicians and entertainers.”