ATLANTA — A massive 70-member choir belted out “Hallelujah” at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day service Monday at his former congregation in Atlanta, followed by a stern message from his youngest daughter warning against anti-woke rhetoric.

The service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta was among the most prominent commemorations of King that played out across the country Monday. At the front of the church’s stage, seven people held large signs proclaiming “JUSTICE”, “FREEDOM” and “DEMOCRACY.”

“We are living in a time when anti-woke rhetoric has become a weapon to divide us and distract us from the real issues of injustice,” King’s daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, said. “To be woke is to be aware of oppression and commitment to justice.”

The MLK holiday was half of the nation’s double-duty Monday: the inauguration of Donald Trump, who heads back to the White House, created mixed feelings on King’s day for civil rights leaders who have opposed Trump’s rhetoric and stances on race and civil rights.

The keynote speaker at Ebenezer then made a reference to Trump, saying he had heard “that somebody had won a mandate.”

“I don’t care who you are, if you win 60% of the vote, you never win a mandate to violate justice,” said Bishop William Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign. “You never win a mandate to hurt people.”

But in Washington, in a speech after taking the oath of office, Trump noted the significance of the King holiday.

“In his honor, we will strive together to make his dream a reality,” Trump said.

Ebenezer is where King was baptized as a child and ordained at 19 years old. He became the congregation’s co-pastor in 1960 alongside his father, Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. He remained in that role until his death, and his funeral was held at the church. The church is now part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park & Preservation District.

Monday marks the third time in the nearly 40 years since the federal King holiday became law that it coincides with a presidential inauguration. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also were sworn in for their second terms on the holiday. MLK Day lands on the third Monday of January — close to King’s Jan. 15 birthday.

King himself worried the legal protections he dedicated his life to realizing would not be followed by greater anti-discrimination efforts or social programs. The celebrated Black civil rights leader proposed it would take white Americans embracing a deeper kinship with Black Americans and engaging in economic and social solidarity to see change.

There was a heavy security presence outside the Atlanta church, where more than two dozen police officers from across metro Atlanta stood guard with all-terrain vehicles, police motorcycles and suburban utility vehicles.