Martin Luther King Jr.'s oldest son marched alongside North Texans Sunday afternoon, honoring his late father's legacy and the ongoing fight for equality.
Cedar Hill leaders and residents marched side by side with Martin Luther King III, the son of a freedom fighter.
The city celebrated King Jr.'s life and legacy with a celebration and freedom walk on Sunday at Trinity Church.
It is a fight that has brought King Jr.'s oldest son to North Texas once again.
"I'm always honored to be almost an ambassador because the reality is that the work that dad and mom did is not complete," King III said. "While I may not complete it, I'm going to continue to try to make a mark so that we can continue to make better communities, so that we can create a more unified nation. So that we really can make America truly what it could and should and can become."
There were several tributes held inside the packed church for the civil rights leader.
The crowd then heard directly from King III about the challenges his father faced then and the challenges the country is facing now.
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"We do need to celebrate the fact that the government is back open," he said. "I think it's challenging to celebrate when we live in a nation that does not always treat its children properly."
King addressed the impasse in Washington over President Donald Trump's border wall.
"Whether we have a border wall or not, how we treat those who come here is important," King III said. "We may, and do, need to have some significant restrictions and evaluate those who come in, but it should trouble you that we have divided families, taken children and separated them from their mothers and fathers and they may never be able to connect with them. There's something wrong with that. That's not America."
Outside, King III further explained his point.
"You just can't have a borderless nation," he said. "You have to have responsible ways, but I think what we've done today, the way we've conducted ourselves most recently, is not just irresponsible, but it's insensitive."
The civil rights activist hoped each step he takes brings the country closer to realizing his father's dream.
If King Jr. was alive, he would have turned 90 last week.
King III was just 10 years old when his father was assassinated in 1968.
