Dozens Gather At MLK Rally In Downtown Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A day dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. brought crowds out in the snow to Salt Lake City.

Organizers said people can’t help but think about the ideas King fought for that are relevant today.

“That more radical side of him often gets distorted for this more comfortable side to him where he is just focusing on race,” event organizer Devin Martinez said.

Snow hasn’t slowed people from showing up for this #MLK rally downtown. Estimated 50+ people. #KSLTV pic.twitter.com/isbqKsJqBi

— Morgan Wolfe (@MorganWolfeKSL) January 18, 2021

Martinez said he believes King’s mission is unfinished.

“He was really about connecting different struggles and forms of oppression,” Martinez said.

King fought for more than ending racism, once saying about economic disparities — “It’s a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps.”

“It’s a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps.” https://t.co/FUHJHqtgCh

— Morgan Wolfe (@MorganWolfeKSL) January 15, 2021

“I think in this system, when we face crisis like this, like the recession or the pandemic, the disparities that already exist just get wider,” Martinez said.

As we reflect on King’s legacy, let us ask ourselves — has America become the country he believed it could?

“It is important for us as people that are interested in these types of things to realize Dr. King’s true legacy,” Martinez said. “To come together as working people for true economic justice and changes to this capital system.”

"The time is always right to do what is right." Martin Luther King Jr. said these words in the 1965 commencement address to the students of Oberlin College in Ohio. (📸: Win McNamee/Getty Images)#MartinLutherKingJr #MLKDay #MLKQuotes pic.twitter.com/F4lYkt1f41

— KSL 5 TV (@KSL5TV) January 18, 2021