Buffalo is one of many places across the country looking back on the life of Martin Luther King Jr. this weekend.

On Saturday, Calvary Baptist Church hosted a special service and rededication of the MLK bust at MLK Park. Among those who attended were Mayor Byron Brown and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.

“We see a lot of unfortunate hate and division in our country. Dr. King talked about how we must learn together as brothers or we shall perish together as fools and unfortunately what we see in our country in the last few years is a lot of fools. But, there are many more of us that are brothers and sisters that are coming together,” said Poloncarz.

They sang, watched recordings of Dr. King speak, and learned about the history of the MLK sculpture.

“I think people need to understand what that monument stands for,” said Poloncarz.

Clifford Bell, the chairman of the Buffalo African American Museum, led Saturday’s rededication of the sculpture to remind people it wasn’t supposed to serve as a replica of Dr. King, rather the messages he was trying to convey. Bell doesn’t want people to forget what the civil rights leader stood for.

“We’ve been very lax in this country as African Americans over the last few years about doing something for freedom, equality, and injustice so this dedication two purposes one is to explain in detail this monument and second to remind us that we got a lot of work to do to fulfill his dream,” Bell said.

At a time of discord across the nation, his dream of wanting people to come together regardless of their differences still remains relevant today.

“We are his legacy each and every one of us is his legacy and we must continue that legacy,” Poloncarz said.