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HOUGHTON -- A half century ago, Martin Luther King Jr.. led the fight for civil rights in this nation.

He gave his life for the cause.  Had he lived, King would have been 80 years old last week and on Monday people across the country celebrated his birthday.

Michigan Tech students repeated his words for their peers.

"When I read it, I sort of like, I feel like I felt how he felt then" said Business student, Nicole White, "you know, I want you to do better.  I want you to be empowered, and those kind of things."

Classes were cancelled but nearly 100 people came to the center of campus for the event.   Candles were lit in his memory.  The group then marched across campus to the Rozsa Center.

After the candlelight march across campus, students from the Black Student Association shared what they think hope means today.  They chose "Past Hope Towards Change" as the theme for the celebration.

"The past hopes that the civil rights leaders had and the people before that", said Black Student Association member, Lisa Grayson, "like all their hopes and dreams, it made a movement for change."

Many students, like Grayson, whose great, great, great, great, great-grandmother was a slave, think King's work went a long way.  But they still see a need to end oppression.

"I think that if we did that sometime, if we looked outside of ourselves and saw what's going on in the world around us, we'd be better global citizens", said Grayson.  "And maybe even better citizens here."