But the dream that Martin Luther King Jr. had to make all people in America equal drew people of various ethnicities to walk together from the Eddy County Courthouse to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park Monday in his honor.
Before the march started on Canyon Street, Dave Rogers, who initially led the group, told everyone, "We walk for the legacy of Dr. King with pride and with freedom, so let's walk and hold our flags high."
For Marie Johnson, the march in honor of the Civil Rights Movement had an extra special significance, for without King's efforts in the 1960s, she may not have been allowed to marry her white husband, Paul.
"One or both of us could be in jail," said Johnson, referencing the Loving v. Virginia case of 1967, in which a black woman and her white husband were imprisoned for their interracial marriage.
The Johnsons have been married for 16 years, and this was their second year participating in the event along with their Australian cattle dog, Ted, who was looking very patriotic with a flag in his collar.
But Johnson of course was not the only one affected by the commemoration of King. Even children as young as 3 were present at the event. Six-year-old Santana Arreola described King as a man who had a good dream. "We should all get along," Arreola said.
As preteens Rachel Rogers and Amelia Ananins walked in the procession, the girls discussed Rosa Parks and the difference she made in 1955 when she refused to obey the segregation practices on a bus in Montgomery, Ala.
As young females, they seemed to be proud of the big part a woman played in the Civil Rights Movement.
After the group reached the park, many of the weary walkers congregated next to the nearby pavilion where the group sang "God Bless America," and Minner Crockett, of the Martin Luther King Foundation, did justice to the successes and accomplishments of black Americans in her speech on the importance of equal rights and human freedom.
Mariah Arreloa, Santa Arreloa, Tracy Arreloa, Zackariah Arreloa, Mahaliah Calderon and Jocelyn Calderon considered themselves part of Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream team as they walked in his honor. The back of their shirts said, "Making the dream a reality." processed by IntelliTune on 21012013 144248 with script 11*New - blk-new 2SUB (Natalie Gross)