The brief chorus of “We Shall Overcome” — sung by the sons and daughter of former slaves and former slave owners waving American flags — echoed through the streets Saturday as about 50 people marched from the Warren County Courthouse in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

The walk, organized by Sylvester Walker, left from the courthouse at 1 p.m. for a ceremony with talk of unity and honoring King’s legacy by expanding the street named in his honor.

North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield announced that the city planed to perform a beatification process along the street named in King’s honor and hoped to expand its reaches.

“We are in the process of expanding it all the way down to the courthouse,” Mayfield said.

Openwood Street — running northeast from the Warren County Court House — becomes Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at First North Street, where a small monument is erected in King’s honor. Part of the street project will include landscaping and cleanup along the current boulevard, Mayfield said.

Openwood is named after the plantation in the area owned by the Rev. Newit Vick, the Methodist minister who platted Vicksburg and sold it in lots. Vick’s plantation was called Open Woods. The Open Wood subdivision on Oak Ridge Road was developed in the 1960s on land once owned by Vick.

“Dr. King’s true essence was unity — coming together,” said Hannah Hopkins, a Hattiesburg-based evangelist and talk show host who served as mistress of ceremonies.

King was assassinated in Memphis on April 4, 1968, four years after he visited Vicksburg and spoke about voter registration at Pleasant Green Baptist Church on Bowman Street. Despite his violent death, King’s legacy of nonviolent resistance and peace continues, event participants said. But the legacy faces challenges, said guest speaker Lawrence Hardge, a Vicksburg native and Michigan based inventor and businessman.

Violent protests across the country since the shooting death of a black teen in Ferguson, Mo., last August have been a major misstep in the African-American community, Hardge said. He commended police and said they deserve the respect of the public.

“When you mistreat them and disrespect them, it’s like spitting in a cook’s face and asking when they’re going to bring your food,” Hardge said.