Candlelight vigil honors King
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that, hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
So said Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as he was quoted on the program for the “Celebrating the Legacy” candlelight vigil hosted by the Black Student Union and Multicultural Student Services on Tuesday night in the Sunburst Lounge.
“Dr. King is a representation of what America is all about — not just for African-Americans, but for everyone,” said Darnel Haney, the guest speaker at the vigil.
Haney, who graduated from Utah State University in 1962, has seen many changes in the treatment of people of color during his lifetime.
“A restaurant in Brigham City wouldn’t serve me and my kids 15 years ago,” he said. “They took our order and then ignored us.
“Now the hotels have opened up totally. I can travel across the country and not have to sleep in my car.”
Marianne Christian attended the vigil with her three children — ages 3, 7 and 10 years old. She said the main reason she went was to open her children’s eyes to people of different races.
“I think there is still racism in this town,” Christian said, a Logan resident. “I want my kids to not be racist, and to hear African-Americans talk about what life is like here. I want so badly to get my daughter to be loving to everybody.
“I hope this community will change.”
–kcartwright@cc.usu.edu