Ogden honors MLK Day with march and service
Jan 17, 2022, 1:23 PM | Updated: Jun 8, 2022, 6:29 pm
OGDEN, Utah — The Ogden chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People hosted several events in honor of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. Monday.
The events on MLK Day last only a matter of hours, but organizers said they hoped Dr. King’s message of love, unity and service would last all year.
“The importance of standing up for right. Dr. King said it’s always the right time to do what’s right,” said Betty Sawyer, president of the NAACP’s Ogden chapter.
“And I think one of the challenges today is that wave been bombarded with so much misinformation and untruth that we have forces working against each other versus working together on some fundamental things that should be rights for all us.”
On Monday in Ogden, they took King’s message to the streets, marching from the Marshall N. White Community Center to the Ampitheatre about a half-mile away.
Sawyer suggested Utahns take the holiday as an opportunity to examine how they are helping to live and share King’s vision.
“Where are they when it comes to equity and inclusion? Where are they when it comes to the right of the vote?”
Organizers stressed voting rights, unity and combating the misinformation so prevalent in society today.
A sixth grade Davis School District student recited part of Dr. King’s famous “I have a dream” speech, telling the crowd, “it talks a lot about things happening today. I think if people listened to it, they would realize black people are people too and they deserve to be treated fairly.”
“Dr. King talked about that great dream and so when we see people come out, it’s reaffirming. We have work to do but I think we have a will to do the work,” Sawyer said.