In almost every state, there are schools, streets and parks named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On Monday, the schools will be closed in recognition of the assassination of one of the most significant civil rights leaders in history. But some say that the true meaning behind Martin Luther King Day has been forgotten. Like Veteran’s Day and Independence Day, there is a very real and very important reason for the annual three-day weekend. “It’s become a commercialized holiday,” Kabili Tayari, director of the Jersey City Office of Economic Opportunity, said last week. “Too often, out national heroes are taken for granted.” Martin Luther King stood in the face of racism and bigotry and was beaten down and doused with fire hoses. In the end, he wound up giving his life for the equality and justice he so strongly believed in. “Remember him for the mere fact he was trying to help somebody,” said Kwame Agyeman, of the Community Awareness Series of the Jersey City Public Library. “He considered himself a servant of the people.” All across the country, tributes and memorial services for Dr. King will be held. In Jersey City, local churches and schools have planned activities honoring the memory of King and his contributions to society. “It’s a day to remind us of the activism of the past,” Tayari said. “He gave, and continues to give, people hope,” Agyeman said. “His words still live on.” Agyeman helped to organize one such tribute on Friday at the Miller Branch Library, featuring one of Dr. King’s former lieutenants. The keynote speaker, Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, marched with King in Washington and has been speaking to people about the issue of equality for over three decades. Jersey City has its ties to Martin Luther King as well. Three days before he was assassinated, Dr. King spoke in Jersey City at Metropolitan A.M.E. Zion Church, located on Bergen Avenue. After what would be his final speaking engagement in the northeast, King flew from Newark Airport to Memphis, never to return. In the time since his death, King’s message has been misrepresented, according to local activists. Many are quick to point out that King – like many other American heroes, who do not have holidays named after them – was committed to the betterment of the entire society, not just oppressed blacks in the south. “There is a financial imbalance between the have and the have-nots,” Agyeman said. “It’s just more subtle today than it was 30 years ago.” Facing issues of gender inequality, financial separatism and religious differences, many say that King’s fight for total equality has yet to be achieved. “There’s more work that needs to be done,” Agyeman said. “We Americans think that racism has disappeared,” Tayari said, “when in fact, it has not. Dr. King always laid out that we can’t be satisfied, or comfortable. A person has to commit to struggle in society, Dr. King is famous for saying. You have to look down in the valley. The struggle continues, because nothing is constant except change.”