A march organized as part of the Days of Dialogue gathered community members concerned about equality in Wyoming, as well as at the university.
At around 5 p.m., students, faculty and Laramie residents gathered at the Skylight Lounge in the Union to begin the march.
The event started with a poem presented by UW alumni Keenan Montgomery, who graduated last year. ASUW’s Director of Institutional Development Robert West also gave a speech on the plight of activists during the civil rights movement. West said that people often do not remember the struggles King and his supporters faced back in the 1960s.
“What is often forgotten and taught is Dr. King’s supporters were beaten, bombed, shot and murdered,” West said. “So let us remember Dr. King for what he was truly was, a revolutionary and a radical, a man who was so not afraid to show even the worst of his neighbors a preaching compassion for all human beings.”
A significant group of Hispanic students attended the march holding charts demanding immigration reform.
Jose Rivas, a senior studying criminal justice at UW, attended the march while holding a sign that read, “Undocumented and unafraid.”
“I am participating in the march because I advocate for immigration rights and immigration reform, especially for the undocumented community,” Rivas said. “Wyoming has been really great for my family and I.”
During the rally the marchers chanted, “Equality state not equal,” “the people united will never be defeated” and “yes we can” among other calls.
Brian Dominguez, the co-chair of the United Multicultural Council and one of the event organizers, said he was marching on behalf of his group.
“We were marching for peace, for compassion and love, continuously trying to improve the campus climate and making it a more positive environment for students of color and all students,” he said.
During his speech at the Willena Stanford Community Supper that followed the rally, UW President Dick McGinity spoke on his memories of the civil rights movement.
“I remember vividly where I was and what I was doing when the news broke that Martin Luther King had been shot,” McGinity said. “I just have to tell you that I just then and still do, think that it was a really black day in the history of this country.”
