This article originally appeared on Oil City News. Used with permission.
CASPER, Wyo. – While many consider Martin Luther King Jr. Day to be a day off, participants in the MLK Equality Day march in honor of Dr. King in Casper asked to make it a “day on.”
“Today is a national day of service, today is a day to honor Dr. King and others and engage in community action to help support our neighbors,” said Leah Reeb during a short speech before the march.
Leah Reeb is the granddaughter of Rev. James Reeb, who was killed by white supremacists in Selma, Alabama, after protesting for civil rights in 1965.
Monday’s march was organized by ServeWyoming. It started at Art 321 and ended with a service at First United Methodist Church, with a quick detour to walk past the mural completed last year honoring Dr. King, James Reeb and other symbols of the civil rights movement.
Wendy Luck, Volunteer Wyoming Program Director with ServeWyoming, said the annual marches have increased in popularity over the past several years.
“It’s a call to us to come together as a community and lift each other up,” she said. “It’s the only national holiday that is also a day of service.”
Art by area students honoring Dr. King was on display at Art 321, where Reeb and others gave short speeches. A speech by Rev. Dee Lundberg and a proclamation by Casper mayor Steve Freel were among the features during a service at First United Methodist Church.
