H. Clinton honored at King Center event

ATLANTA, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Hillary Clinton is a champion of social and racial justice, say the organizers of the King Center's "Salute to Greatness" dinner in Atlanta.

Clinton, the U.S. senator from New York who has been tapped by President-elect Barack Obama to be the next secretary of state, was among the honorees at the Saturday fund-raising event for the center honoring the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The dinner was one of several weekend events in Atlanta marking Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. Day federal holiday, which commemorates the civil rights activist assassinated in 1968.

"It's not just remembering and celebrating; we must also act," Clinton told the audience of 1,000 people at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. "Until every vote is counted and every American has health insurance and jobs, then it is up to all of us. As we commemorate MLK Day, we are called upon to treat this day as a day of service. We all have a part to play."

King Center president Isaac Farris Jr., praised Clinton for her leadership, humanitarianism and "as a champion of needed social reforms," the Journal-Constitution reported.