He wishes more people his age knew more than the name in the history books. "He stood for so much we wouldn't be where we are today without him," says Montgomery.
For the very young, Dr. King's dream of civil rights is a little more fuzzy on what has become a day off from school and a parade.
Jesse McDonald who fought King's war on poverty in Fresno thinks young people would be better off if they studied the man "and" his message.
"I believe that if the schools would stress the teachings of Dr. King and others like him we wouldn't, they wouldn't have the problems they do out on the street," says McDonald.
But 16-year old Jesse Andrews and his friends from Edison High do know what King sacrificed for them.
They got an award during Fresno's MLK celebration for their magazine that's gives young people a voice.
Andrews says for him, the voice of Dr. King is alive and well. "To me he's a person that I can put in my heart and continue to move on day to day," Andrews says.
