On the 39th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr., the brothers of the Alpha Kappa Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity along with the sisters of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority of the University of Massachusetts will hold a candle light vigil on campus tonight.

The vigil will be held at 7:30 p.m. outside of the Campus Center, where students will begin their silent walk to the Southwest Residential Area.

“We feel that this event is important because it will educate the campus community about a man whose sacrifices have benefited us all,” said Alpha Kappa member Daniel Cole.

The purpose of the walk is to celebrate the life of not only Dr. King, but also the contributions of his wife, Coretta Scott King, a prominent member of the Alpha Kappa sorority.

This week also marks Alpha Kappa’s Second Annual Women’s Appreciation Week, which will be kicked off by giving yellow long stem roses to women throughout the Pioneer Valley.

At the age of 35, Dr. King was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tenn. – where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city – he was assassinated.

On April 5, President Lyndon B. Johnson decreed that Sunday, April 7, 1968 be a day of national mourning in honor of Dr. King.

His body was viewed by mourners on the campus of Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga, April 7, 1968. His funeral was eulogized at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta two days later, and his body was laid to rest at the South View Cemetery. More than 300,000 people marched through Atlanta with his mule-drawn coffin that day.

Matt Belliveau can be reached at [email protected].