BATON ROUGE - In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day people all across the country will be volunteering and participating in events in their communities.

Organizations and leaders in the Baton Rouge area hosted several events throughout the day in honor of Dr. King.

The One Blood Committee held a press conference at 8 a.m. focusing on racial unity. More than 100 pastors from the area were on hand. 

At the same time, Baton Rouge chapter of the NAACP held its MLK Day Service at Mount Zion First Baptist Church. East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome was the keynote speaker.

Perry Franklin spoke at two events for Baton Rouge General Hospital at two locations at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.

As part of The Walls Project's four-day MLK Festival of Service, the organization hosted a block party which started a 11 a.m. Residents can enjoy food, activities, and ask local leaders questions until 4 p.m.

In Donaldsonville, residents met at 406 Charles Street from 9 a.m. until noon for a beatification event. 

In New Roads, a unity march started around 9 a.m. this morning and ended with a presentation by speaker Alfreda Tillman who spoke about reviving Dr. King's dream at the New Roads Civic Center.

Over in Baker, the Strength to Love event took place at the Baker Municipal Center where Representative Barbra Carpener was the guest speaker.

At 10:30 a.m., the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank began packing a recording breaking 50,000 meals as part of the national day of service. Helpers were preparing food until around noon.