BOISE, Idaho — Hundreds marched from Boise State University to the statehouse steps behind the BSU MLK Living Legacy Committee.
The annual event was back in-person after years of virtual events due to the pandemic. The MLK Living Legacy Committee continues to push for equality in Idaho and the United States, while simultaneously acknowledging the progress already made by people before them.
"Change is always gonna be scary. If it was easy, anyone could do it. What we need to learn is not to do things that are easy, we need to do the things that are right. And sometimes, what is right is hard," MLK Living Legacy Committee Chair Charles Jones III said. "If that means exposing your own history or exposing your ancestors supported slavery or the KKK - call it out. Once we lay it all on the table we can say, 'Ya did it. It was then. What do we [do now to] move forward?' You encourage [racism] by wanting to hide it."
Jessica Lynn attended the march; it was the first time she participated in such an event. Lynn is white; however, her daughter is Black. The family recently moved from Los Angeles to Idaho.
"I want to support the message of Martin Luther King [Jr.] and just make change in the world. It's time. It's been time for a longtime," Lynn said. "I will say, my daughter has had more racial slurs thrown at her here than she ever did in LA."
At the Capitol, several speakers shared words from Martin Luther King Jr.'s teachings and anecdotes of their own lived experiences. They challenged marchers and supporters to have crucial conversations about their lived experiences to better understand those of a different racial group.
"That is the difference between the mindset of people now of days and the people of [the 1960's]," Treasure Valley NAACP President Charles Taylor said. "You see those kids carrying those signs. They are of all colors, of all generations, of all nationalities. So that's telling me they are having a conversation that people of my generation were not able to have."
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