Musicians and Oakland residents acknowledged that battles for equality still exist, even as they celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010.

"I hate to say that I think his message will probably always be relevant," Stacey Hoffman said. "There is an extreme amount of hatred in the world."

Hoffman is the producer for the event "In the Name of Love"--a musical tribute to the nonviolent civil rights activist. Local and national musicians travelled to the Scottish Rite Center in Oakland, Calif. to honor King's memory with jazzy rhythms. While the theater echoed with joyous songs of hope, many performers realized that (even with the first African American president) there it is still a long journey to the equality that King preached.

"Everybody says that Obama is Martin Luther incarnated," Jamilah Parker laughed. "But every day it is apparent that racism still exists."

Parker is a new member of the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir that performed the closing set for "In the Name of Love." For many of its members, including Parker, the choir represents the same ideas of togetherness that King advocated. The choir, under the direction of Terrance Kelly, is non-denominational.

"Some people want to sing gospel, but don't want to change faiths to do it," Kelly said. "So we accept everyone."

Kelly remembers his parents crying at King's speeches, himself not fully aware of their impact as a young child. Now, 40 years after King was shot on the second floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., Kelly is still moved by King's vision of peace. And to him, music is the perfect way to honor the man's memory.

"Through our roots in African culture, where everything is sung, danced or beat out in a drum, it has become part of American culture," Kelly said. "And so it entirely appropriate to celebrate him with song."

And even while prejudice still veers its head, Brian Copeland, entertainer and emcee for the evening, recognized the distance we've traveled since King's time. "I realized I didn't know all the words to 'We Shall Overcome,'" Copeland said to the audience. "That's when I understood. I don't know all the words, because Dr. King made it so I wouldn't have to."

The night ended with the performers and audience members holding hands as they sang. "Music cuts across barrier," Hoffman said. "King understood how it brought the people from suffering to joy."