Chadron braves cold for MLK march
“Let freedom ring” “We shall overcome” “Free at last” “I have a dream”
Monday morning, almost half a century after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famous speech, more than 50 people participated in CSC’s annual walk in honor of King. College students and faculty, community members, and Pine Ridge Job Corps students braved the below-freezing temperatures to walk from the Common Cents gas station to the Student Center.
The participants carried signs with quotes from King’s speech. Some of them marched silently, trying to fend off the frigid cold. Others balanced hot drinks and their signs or raised their fists in solidarity as King’s memorable speech was broadcast from a truck that led the procession. The participants then gathered in the Student Center to thaw, while several people, from faculty members to job corps students, spoke in memory of King’s life and his legacy.
“Where would this world be today if it weren’t for Martin Luther King, Jr.?” asked Devaughn Williams, a job corps student from Meridian, Miss. “If only he could be here today to see his dreams become a reality.”
Meanwhile, Nakia Booker of Hot Springs, Ark., challenged people to look beyond race and not use it as an excuse.
“Let the race card go,” she urged as the crowd of people erupted into cheers. Sarah Polak, director of the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center closed the event with the poignant reminder that “Rosa Parks sat; Martin Luther King, Jr., dreamed; Barack Obama ran; and we walked.”
Martin Luther King, Jr., Day is a holiday that Ronald Reagan passed in 1983, but it was not recognized until 1986. Some states avoided observing the holiday, and it was not until 2000 that all 50 states celebrated the day. Chadron does not officially observe the day, so CSC does not cancel classes for the holiday but honors King with the march. David Neishem, a history professor at CSC, explained the history of the day and said he would like to see Chadron acknowledge the day.
“On a day like today, we need to stand by our convictions,” he said.
Even with the cold temperatures, Laure Sinn, coordinator of student activities, said there appeared to be more people than usual involved in the walk, which is sponsored annually by CSC’s diversity committee.
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