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OGDEN — The rollback of diversity initiatives in Utah and around the county doesn't mean Black people have suddenly achieved parity in how they're treated, says Betty Sawyer, head of the Ogden Chapter of the NAACP.
"If you look at home ownership, if you look at the wealth gap and all of those things, if you look at housing, if you look at education, those gaps are still there," she said at a Monday event in Ogden to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day. "We've had over 150 years of structural racism, institutional racism, and that stuff just doesn't whittle away on its own. We've had about 50 years of half-hearted efforts to address affirmative action and equity and inclusion, and at every turn, there's been kickback, pushback to say, 'No, it's not needed.'"
Indeed, she and others say the civil rights struggle continues, and numerous activities unfolded around Utah on Monday, like the Ogden event, to honor King and continue his efforts. Of particular concern to many involved in civil rights advocacy in Utah has been elimination last year of diversity initiatives at Utah's public universities, paralleling moves around the country and similar moves of late within the private sector.
"We want to keep his dream alive," said Denise Elbert, who attended the Ogden event with her grandson. "We still have a long way to go."
Among other activities, rallies and marches were also planned at the Utah Capitol and at the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City on Monday to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Kathryn Mackay of Ogden, a retired Weber State University history professor, took part in the Ogden event, in part as a distraction from the inauguration Monday of Donald Trump to his second U.S. presidential term. "I want to do something other than watch the inauguration," she said.
But King's message of treating all people fairly is particularly important to her.
King was "was committed to social justice, to equity and to fairness. I think fairness is an important quality or attribute. We seem to be an increasingly unfair society," she said. Like Sawyer, Mackay said the fight for civil rights isn't over, underscoring the reason "we keep celebrating and marking his birthday."
Sawyer pushed back against the "rhetoric" partially underscoring the movement against diversity efforts that they're unnecessary, at least as formulated. Utah lawmakers last year passed legislation mandating elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the University of Utah and Utah's other public universities. The officials argued that programming under the umbrella of diversity efforts should be available to all students in need, not just the historically underserved communities, including Black students, that they had been geared to.
"I think this is a time for people to stand up for what is right, not be swayed by the sentiments and they hype of what's going on," she said. "History is history. Truth is truth. Lies are lies, and (there's) a lot of misinformation floating around and people get emotional about it. This is not the time to be emotional. Deal with the facts, deal with truth and let's work on making our country and our state a better place."
Beyond the politics of the civil rights fight, Elbert also says Martin Luther King Jr. serves to honor a great American. "I believe all the great Americans need to be celebrated. Dr. King is no different," she said.
