In 1956, addressing an NAACP Convention in San Francisco, Martin Luther King Jr. told the crowd: "I believe that a day will come when all God's children from bass black to treble white will be significant on the constitution's keyboard." Those words are now inscribed in granite in Yerba Buena Gardens where the city remembers Dr. King with the largest memorial outside of the nation's capital. Today, on MLK Day, a series of events will remember King's legacy and contributions to civil rights.

Commemorative programs kicked off earlier this morning in the park along Mission Street between Third and Fourth Streets. This being the 50th anniversary of King's "I Have A Dream" speech and the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the list of special commemorative programs includes conversations with civil rights luminaries and other national personalities throughout the day until 5 p.m. YBCA will also host an awards ceremony for the Dream@50 youth art contest, honoring half a century of progress since King first delivered his address. There is also an MLK Health and Wellness Festival and film screenings from the 2013 Liberation film series.

Nearby in SoMa, the Museum of African Diaspora will also honor with free admission to the museum along with a program of family-friendly events. Outside on Mission Street, the museum will host chalk art and live African drumming ensembles. Inside, there's a scavenger hunt, art projects, film screenings and a college fair hosted by ScholarShare.

Elsewhere around the city, you might take a moment to actually stop and chat with those Planned Parenthood volunteers in the pink t-shirts. As Jezebel notes today, Dr. King was a huge fan of Planned Parenthood and birth control. Another fun fact: the "Montgomery Story" address King gave at the NAACP convention in 1956, which inspired the inscription at the Yerba Buena fountain was delivered on Grove Street, reminding us that San Francisco has always had a close connection with Dr. King's work.