Unity Walk In Crookston Remembers Martin Luther King Jr.

 Students and community leaders gather in Crookston in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

A trek through the snow in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day brought out people from around the region.

“I mean the most important thing is just for us to come out here and recognize the day and have a good time walk, enjoy ourselves you know meet some new people and stuff too,” said Welton Mah of Grand Forks.

Alexis Gregory goes to Crookston High School and she spent her day off taking part in the Unity Walk.

“It was just a big part of our history, like we spent so long and so many people kind of fought for it so it’s just good to remember what those people did,” said Gregory of Crookston.

Gregory remembers learning about the struggle for racial equality in class.

This is the third year for the walk and this year Northland Community College joined UMC and UND in preparation for the day’s events.

“It takes teamwork to make a dream work and certainly you see the team of the Red River Valley today coming together to celebrate this wonderful day,” said UMC Diversity & Multicultural Director Lorna Hollowell.

Walking was only one of the celebrations throughout the day. There were several speakers highlighting the struggles people of color have had throughout the years.

Kicking off the presentations was a trailer for the movie “Selma” which is being shown in theaters across the country.
It tells the story of the 1965 marches for voting rights in Alabama.

“We are still in search of his dream of equality on the basis of our character but we are closer to it than we were before,” said UMC Vice Chancellor for Academics Barbara Keinath.

The celebrations highlighted the acceptance of diversity and the work that needs to be done to live in a world that is truly equal.