By Christopher Bobby 

Mahoning County's Martin Luther King Planning Committee celebrated Monday's holiday by turning its attention to the fight against poverty.

The slain civil rights leader's legacy included his organizing the Poor People's Campaign before he was murdered in 1968, and Monday marked the first time the holiday has been held since the Occupy Wall Street movement has taken hold.

At Youngstown's First Presbyterian Church, the planning committee brought together educators, clergy members and a considerable number of government employees to talk about poverty here and how to tackle the problem.

''King's view on poverty is something everyone agrees must be addressed. And with my involvement in this (committee) the past four or five years, we've been choosing different topics. This (topic) was perfect for this year. It transcends race, sex, age and disability. But the important thing is how do we organize,'' said attorney Yulanda McCarty-Harris, director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity at Youngstown State University.

''We can't just wait for Dr. King's birthday to come around once a year. It has to continue year-round. Martin Luther King had only 30 congregations supporting him before his death. And I can tell not every clergy member in Youngstown is here today. But the ones who are here have a commitment. Now, we move on to who's in charge. That's normally where things fall apart,'' said Pastor Michael McBride, executive director of the Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action. He challenged those at the workshop to take the fight against poverty to the streets and to every level of government.

''Our country suffers from attention deficit disorder. King's birthday challenges us to stay involved,'' McBride said.

Dr. Joseph L. Mosca, dean of YSU's Bitonte College of Health and Human Services, explained that a politicized poverty has come full circle since Social Security was created in 1935.

He told the group to keep five questions in mind during their workshops, including why does poverty persist; who should take responsibility for the plight of the poor; why have the poor relied on state relief; what form should poor relief take; and why is there a lack of consensus on these questions?

Mosca reminded those in attendance that Youngstown has among the highest rates in the country for concentrated poverty at 49 percent.

''Why is it a country with our technology and brainpower can't solve this problem,'' he said.