Two out of three presidential candidates were present in Memphis to pay tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. 40 years after the civil rights activist was assassinated there.

Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain held speeches Friday in front of Lorraine Motel, a site which became a place of pilgrimage after ML King was killed there with a riffle shot 40 years ago.

The third presidential candidate, Illinois senator Barack Obama, paid tribute to Mr. King from 600 miles away. He was in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he spoke about the King's economic message and not only his racial one.

"It's worth reflecting on what Martin Luther King was doing in Memphis 40 years ago. It was a struggle for economic justice." Obama said. ML King was in Memphis, the one of the poorest cities in the U.S., to help organize a strike of sanitation workers.

The weather wasn’t great for a memorial gathering, but as the light rain fell at Martin Luther King Memorial Peace Park, McCain and Clinton emphasized Mr. King’s dream and his dedication to achieve his success in the civil rights field.

Republican John McCain presented his apologies for voting against a federal holiday honoring King when he was in congress in 1983. King, McCain said, "seems a bigger man from far away."

"No good cause in this world - however right in principle or pure in heart - was ever advanced without sacrifice. And Dr. King knew this," McCain said from the balcony where Mr. King preached. " ... He was a man accustomed to the nearness of danger. And when death came, it found him standing upright, in open air, unafraid."

Clinton spoke of King’s legacy from the Memphis church where the Baptist minister preached his final sermon.

"It felt like everything had been shattered and we'd never be able to put the pieces together again," said the New York Senator about King’s assassination.

On the other hand, Obama said on Friday that King’s dream is still out of reach for many American citizens.

"We are our brother's keeper. We are our sister's keeper. Either we go up together, or we go down together," said the Democrat candidate.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was one of America’s crucial civil rights militants. The Baptist minister led a huge campaign against segregation and discrimination against African Americans in the 1960s.

The King’s efforts were successful as they led to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He received the Nobel Peace Prize for his achievements at the age of 35.

Mr. King was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis by a rifle shot. He was in town to help organize sanitation workers strike. The assassination triggered a series of mass riots all over the United States. The African American communities in at least 100 U.S. cities revolted.