In observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Casper will have an Wyoming Equality Day celebration march Monday morning. Traditional march:

"Well, we start off with the traditional march, and that's base on the marches that were done during the civil rights movement. And we'll be kicking off at 11 o'clock in the morning on Monday at City Park. We'll be marching through downtown, and our color guard this year is the NOWCAP color guard, so we're excited to have them. We will end the march at the First United Methodist Church, across from the library, downtown, where we'll be be greeted with hot chocolate, and some great music provided by Walking With Christ Ministries."

Janet de Vries, with the Casper NAACP, says they are grateful to have the Honorable William F. Downes as the keynote speaker. Because Judge Downes will retire from the federal bench this year, Ms. de Vries said they were glad he accepted their invitation. James Simmons, president of the Casper NAACP, will emcee the event.

And although the NAACP started as an organization for people of color, now it's about civil rights for everyone.

Civil rights organization:

"NAACP has been traditionally associated with people of African American heritage, coming out of the activities of the civil rights movement. However, the NAACP is the largest and oldest civil rights organization, with chapters throughout the United States, as well as the world. And we welcome people of all colors, so everyone is welcome."

Ms. de Vries said the reason we remember Dr. Martin Luther King is because he proved that you can fight injustice with peaceful protest.

Legacy of non-violence:

"This is the 25th anniversary of the King holiday. The national theme is: Remember, Celebrate, Act; One Love, One Dream. And this really reiterates the importance of remembering Dr. King's work and legacy and we try to act on his principles, non-violence, human rights. This is so important with recent tragedies, shootings, that we do act non-violently, that we act civilly, and we get along with all of our neighbors."

The Equality Day march starts at 11 am, at Center and 7th, goes to 2nd and Durbin, where there will be a lunch served by ServeWyoming and Big Brothers, Big Sisters. The "ticket" for lunch is a non-perishable food item to be donated to the Holy Cross Food Bank.

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