The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration March took place Wednesday night, seemingly just like last year. But this commemoration had a different feel to it — the event was just one day after the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.

After the parade, which the Eta Omicron chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha organized, the group went to the Witherspoon Student Center. Once there, Demetrius Marlowe, assistant director of the academic support program for student athletes, took the podium to speak about the events that lead to the election on the first black president in American history.

Kadeem Myrick, a junior in business administration and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, said the inauguration put a different light on this MLK Day.

“It puts a lot of things in perspective. You can look back and compare, and it’s amazing how we got to this point,” Myrick said.

Myrick said the movement for equality has been very inspirational.

“When you look back on it and see the things [King] stood for, it is a tremendous jump to now [with a black president],” Myrick said.

A black man in the White House is truly a dream come true, according to Marlowe.

“As I look back at what just happened, it is a dream realized. With enough perserverance, anything is possible,” he said.

Ricci Kearney, a senior in communication and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, said the inauguration was a fantastic thing.

“When I was a kid my mom used to tell me, ‘You can be the first black president, but with what happened it’s amazing to actually see it in my lifetime,” Kearney said. “It is remarkable.”

But in the midst of celebration, Myrick still asked people to consider what can still be done.

Marlowe recognized that King was almost prophetic as he saw what this country is capable of.

“I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the promised land,” King once said. “I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.”

Marlowe recognized that with Obama’s inauguration, that dream of a promised land has been achieved.

But from here, blacks need to continue to push and not give up, according to Kearney.

“The bar has been raised. It is up to us to keep pushing and attain [higher goals],” Kearney said.