(NewsNation) — January 15 marks the day of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.‘s 95th birthday, a day of reflection and community gathering.

Grammy-nominated poet Kevin Powell said while younger generations can learn from older ones, older generations have a lot to learn from younger generations.

“It’s really important for us to have respect for young people. There’s things we can teach younger people. But they can teach us if they’re born in the late 80s, 90s, into the 2000s, because they have a different perspective. I think when we get into the ages, and we lose that the idealism and the energy that young people bring to the table.

For this year’s celebration, the 37th since its federal recognition in 1986, a descendant of King hopes to spur progress by helping more Americans personalize the ongoing struggle for racial equity and harmony. Bernice King, daughter of the late civil rights icon, said people must move beyond platitudes and deepen their own commitments to the needed progress.

“I have great hope in our people — when I say our people, the American people, just human beings in general. I just think that we have to have a new kind of conversation, and what better time to do it than on the birthday of Dr. King,” Powell said.