Connor Academy student Ellie Leishman gave serious thought to the reason why she had Monday off of school.

Leishman, 14, was among a few hundred participants in a Monday afternoon Martin Luther King Jr. Day march from Holt Arena to Idaho State University’s Stephens Performing Arts Center.

She carried a sign featuring a quote by the slain civil rights leader, written inside of a heart: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“I think that really he just showed so much love and he really wanted everyone to love each other,” Leishman said.

King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, during his March on Washington. Born in Atlanta, he fought against segregation and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee in April of 1968.

The march was organized by ISU’s Office of Equity and Inclusion, and participants attended a short program focused on King’s message of racial equality and unity after arriving at the Stephen’s Center. ISU’s U.S. Army ROTC program led the march, with participants chanting relevant slogans such as, “Martin Luther King! I have a dream!”

Ailinh Harris marched with her husband Aaron, who is chairman of ROTC at ISU, and their five young children.

“I just wanted to teach our children equality and how to come together as a community and what it means to serve their community at the same time,” Ailinh Arris said. “We really do want to tech our children inclusion and to be responsible and kind to people in our communities.”

To Ladd Edmo, chairman of Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, the march represented an opportunity to celebrate King’s message of love, unity and equality.

“It’s very good for our community because it brings us together,” Edmo said. “I feel we’ve come a long way, and there’s a longer journey ahead.”

Sisters Susannah and Elle Mann, who are both ISU students, seized the chance to walk their dogs, Rooney and Rey, while also honoring King’s legacy.

“We’re still fighting the same fight today. If we see anything with police brutality and racial profiling of Muslim people or people from the Middle East, I think it’s very important to keep this alive because we’re still fighting the same battle and we’re going to keep fighting until we win,” Susannah Mann said. “I think (this march) is a good chance for those of us who do share a similar mindset to see that we’re not alone, and I think that it shows ... there are people who still believe in this.”

Henry Evans, associate director of equity and inclusion at ISU, has participated in the march for well more than a decade. He hopes the emphasis on unity catalyzes people in the community to seek change where it’s needed. Having grown up in Pocatello’s Triangle neighborhood, where people of several ethnicities lived together in harmony, Evans believes Pocatello has a history of recognizing the value of diversity.

“If we’re not careful, we can focus on differences in our language and our political discourse, which will keep us focused on the things that separate us as opposed to the things that keep us together,” Evans said. “I think unfortunately our politics have become focused on division. We need to engage in the politics of creating community.”