LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A coalition of African American and Latino community leaders came together on Wednesday to honor the memory of one of America’s most influential civil rights icons.

Local community and labor groups took part in the annual interfaith prayer breakfast in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Holman Uited Methodist church in South Los Angeles.

The “Social Justice Organization Community Coalition” sponsored the meeting with a singular goal: tackling the growing economic divide among some of the city’s poorest communities.

Good jobs, income inequality and affordable housing “are the same issues that Dr. King took on in his Poor People’s Campaign in 1968 before he was assassinated,” said spokeswoman Carla María Guerrero. “These are still the issues that South L.A. faces today.”

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was among the elected officials on hand and said that even after four decades have passed since his assassination, Dr. King’s memory is very much still alive and well.

“Dr. Martin Luther King had a vision,” said Villaraigosa. “It was a vision of inclusiveness, a vision of opportunity for all, a vision of the races and the faiths and the people of America coming together in a way that would make us a more perfect union.”

In addition to the event, the Community Coalition will also sponsor the “Occupy King’s Dream: We are the 99%” float with hundreds of South L.A. residents at an MLK Day parade set for Jan. 16.