Mayor Michelle Wu, city officials and Bostonians gathered on the steps of City Hall on Monday morning to lay a wreath to honor the legacy of civil rights activist and icon Mel King.

“His legacy touched us all,” Mariama White-Hammond, Boston’s Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space, said opening the ceremony. “City Hall, this crowd would not look like it does if it were not for the legacy of Mel King. So many of us stand here knowing that we stand on the shoulders of a giant.”

Speakers from the city government referenced his mark on the city, including the Tent City affordable housing development he championed, the South End Technology Center in Tent City he established, his historic campaign as the first Black man on the mayoral ballot in 1983 and much more. King passed at age 94 on March 28.

Wu also signed a proclamation naming April 11, 2023, as a day of remembrance for his legacy.

People also gathered for a visitation at Union United Methodist Church from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. with the King family. His funeral will also be held at the South End church at noon on Tuesday.

“Mel had broken down so many walls and barriers in our city in his work as a public servant, as an activist, a father, a husband, a poet, a trailblazer,” said Wu. “He dreamed for the city. He challenged us to fight for that dream. And to do so with the all-encompassing power of love. Mel taught us how to serve, how to build, how to love, and how to envision a Boston that could truly be a home to everyone.”