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Friday, Mar 29th

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Get inspired after MLK Day

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This year’s observance of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day just happened to fall during the same week when the United States inaugurated a new president –Donald J. Trump.

Dr. King would have been 89 years old last week had an assassin’s bullet not found its mark at that Memphis motel back in 1968. King was 39 years old at the time he died, yet he moved the consciousness of humanity in ways not done before by anyone.

Gallup and McKinley County celebrated King’s birthday with its annual march from the Gallup Cultural center to the Larry B. Mitchell Recreational Center across town. King gave his life for the human struggle, for quality, dignity and opportunity.

It’s a fight that continues. It’s one in which all Americans must do their parts, as it’s the only way to reach the Promised Land that King talked about in his last public address. That means doing things like supporting education, which is a stepping-stone to a better life. It means standing for something and speaking out against injustice. It means being part of the solution and not the problem.

“Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere,” King once said in a speech.

In Gallup, this year’s King observance was marked by the march from the Cultural Center, an inter-faith prayer service, short speeches and dance performances from dozens of people from different cultures and races who reside in McKinley County.

Last year was a year that brought out a lot of soul-searching in various communities due to the fact that there were a lot of communities that experienced gun deaths. There were shooting incidents that opened old wounds for some of us.

The theme of the 2017 King Day in Gallup? “Community Togetherness.” Togetherness must mean just that throughout the entire year and not just on a given day.

We should use the annual day set aside to honor Dr. King as something akin to inspiration.