Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders brought a standing-room only crowd to its feet at Ebenezer Baptist Church, calling on the nation’s leaders to advocate Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream instead of simply celebrating it.

“If you honestly believe in what Dr. King stood for then stop the voter suppression,” Sanders said in a rousing speech that touched on themes familiar to those who have followed his career and his recent presidential race.

Rev. Michael Louis Pfleger criticized President-elect Donald Trump in his keynote speech at the King celebration, saying: “Shame on you Mr. Trump on this weekend attacking an icon (John Lewis) of the civil rights movement. You, Mr. Trump, have made yourself the anchor of fake news.”

The line to get into the event snaked down Jackson Street as hundreds waited patiently and the church quickly filled up. Those in attendance included Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Georgia U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, and U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Lithonia).

Sanders said before he was assassinated in 1968, King was not revered as he is today. He was still fighting for the poor and would today be shocked that so many of those same people are behind bars.

“He would join us in saying maybe we should be investing in jobs and education, not jails and incarceration,” Sanders said of King.

He also said it was not acceptable that America, the world’s wealthiest nation, have the highest level of childhood poverty, and that 20 million could lose health insurance if the Affordable Care Act is repealed.

One of the highest elected officials in one of Georgia’s most diverse counties wrote a Facebook post calling U.S. Rep. John Lewis a “racist pig.”

Gwinnett County Commissioner Tommy Hunter, a Republican, hurled the verbal attack on Lewis a few days after civil rights legend locked in a war of words with president-elect Donald Trump during the holiday honoring the life of Martin Luther King Jr.

It came amid a well-publicized feud between Lewis and Trump, which started when Lewis told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he didn’t view Trump as a “legitimate president.”

Trump then responded on Twitter, calling Lewis “all talk” and proclaiming his Congressional district — which includes most of the city of Atlanta — to be “in terrible shape and falling apart.”

Connect with NJTODAY.NET

Join NJTODAY.NET's free Email List to receive occasional updates delivered right to your email address!