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ATLANTA  Those who wish to see Martin Luther King Jr .'s ideals live on must hold President Obama accountable on helping "the least of these," which was at the center of King's philosophy, Princeton University scholar and writer Cornel West said Monday during the King Day celebration here.

"Where is the talk about poverty?" West asked in a fiery, sermonlike speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached regularly from 1960 until his death in 1968. "Don't tell me the recession is over and Wall Street is bouncing back when I see all these unemployed brothers and sisters of all colors still catching hell."

"We need to pressure brother Obama," said West, an advocate for racial justice who wrote the 1993 best seller Race Matters.

The crowd included one of King's three surviving children, Bernice King; Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.; and civil rights icons Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and former United Nations ambassador Andrew Young. "There's nothing wrong with criticizing him on principle, but no vicious personal attacks."

Bridgette Weston, 38, of Lithia Springs, Ga., brought her son, Courtney, 14, and daughter, Christina, 7. "I want them to understand what Martin Luther King Jr. was all about," she said.

MLK DAY: Obama joins service to others

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The Atlanta service was among scores of celebrations marking the 25th observance of the federal holiday honoring King. Many events across the USA were centered on community service, and many were laced with reminders of the earthquake tragedy in Haiti.

•In Detroit, at Osborn High School, students and volunteers spruced up the building, painted murals and assembled bags of toiletries for Freedom House, a local group that provides temporary shelter for refugees. Eunique Worthy, 12, of Detroit said she was glad to hear that the kits might ultimately help people fleeing Haiti and emigrating to Detroit. "I thought it was nice," she said.

•In Morristown, N.J., Felicia Jamison said at the Morris Interfaith Breakfast, "We know that our brothers and sisters in Haiti are suffering. The American people are so kind and so generous."

•In Washington, President and Michelle Obama, their daughters, Sasha and Malia, and the girls' grandmother, Marian Robinson, served lunch at So Others Might Eat, a soup kitchen and provider of services to homeless people. Excited visitors sat at six long tables.

Wearing a green apron, the president served plates of food and walked alongside the tables, shaking hands with guests. Michelle Obama walked around the room with Sasha, pouring coffee. "See if anyone else wants coffee," she instructed her daughter as they served guests, asking each how they were doing. Robinson and Malia moved around with platters of chicken, potato salad, cornbread and pastries, asking guests whether they needed more of anything.

•In Simpsonville, S.C., volunteers raked leaves, picked turnips, washed windows and spread mulch at the Golden Strip's Center for Community Services. Amanda Duncan and her children worked in the garden. "Especially with it being a day of service, it meant a little bit more to be able to show them what it's like to do work like this, not to reward yourself but to be able to help someone else," she said.

•In Indianapolis, nearly 300 participants in the city's annual Freedom Walk strolled two blocks in morning fog, singing Oh, Freedom and We Shall Overcome. Later, several speakers highlighted Obama's 2008 election as a sign that King's message of equality and inclusiveness is being realized. But, they cautioned, much work remains.

Rep. André Carson, D-Ind., said that more than 100,000 of his constituents have no health insurance. If King were alive today, he said, "this is where his focus would be."

Contributing: Jason Thomas of The Indianapolis Star, Matt Manochio of the Morris County (N.J.) Daily Record, Kathleen Gray of the Detroit Free Press, Anna Simon and Nathaniel Cary of The Greenville (S.C.) News