ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The legacy of one of America’s most prominent civil rights leaders was on everyone’s mind Monday as Alaska communities gathered to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

A multicultural presentation at East High School celebrated the values King fought for, bringing together community leaders, dancers, martial artists, and musicians for a program designed to reflect his enduring impact.

“It is so important to continue to promote justice, which was really what Dr. Martin Luther King was all about,” said Celeste Hodge Growden, president of the Alaska Black Caucus. “Again, justice, equity, equality, those things that might not be as present as they once were.”

While King may not have visited the Last Frontier, the rights he fought for extend to the 49th state. Alaska’s Civil Rights Office within the Department of Transportation continues his work today.

Civil rights work continues in Alaska

“I like to be a voice for those people that don’t like to speak up,” said Robespierre Howard of the Civil Rights Office at the Alaska Department of Transportation. “And a lot of times, if you look at the cultural differences up here, the state of Alaska is quite different from the lower 48.”

King’s work ultimately led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, still upheld in part by the Civil Rights Office of the Alaska Department of Transportation.

“Our mission is to promote fair[ness] and equity, we want to ensure that everybody has the same opportunities to work and bid on federally funded projects,” said Zhenia Peterson of the Civil Rights Office at the Alaska Department of Transportation.

Considering King was thrust into national fame during the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955, the Civil Rights movement has long been tied to transportation.

“Everyone should have opportunities to work, live, play, be able to use our roads just as much as anybody else,” Peterson said.

Message of hope continues

It’s a road Alaska is still traveling.

“Everyone deserves, you know, to be treated fairly, no matter what,” Howard said. “That’s just the bottom line. We’re, at the end of the day, we’re all people.”

The message from today’s celebration emphasized the importance of maintaining hope and community unity.

“We cannot give up hope. We must keep hope alive,” Hodge Growden said. “And I think, again, events like this that bring us together as a community are positive messaging. And that’s something we need more of.”

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Ever since his 2024 diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, much of three-year-old Caleb Seidl’s life has been rooted in uncertainty.

“We’ve been through some really intense treatments,” Caleb’s father Reuben Seidl said. “It’s amazing, his resilience and his energy and just the fight that he’s shown, not even realizing that he’s been fighting, but just trying to be a kid and be himself.”

One way Caleb and his family have found to help him be himself has been embracing his love of hockey.

“As anyone that has a toddler knows, it’s hard to get them to sit on one idea or one want,” Reuben Seidl said. “But Caleb has always loved sports. He’s always loved watching hockey games even before his diagnosis.”

He’s joined a Alaska All-Stars Hockey Association team that’s usually meant for kids six and older. But it made an exception to accommodate the fast-learning Caleb.

“It’s a real privilege to get to support a kid like Caleb that’s out here fighting a battle you don’t wish on your worst enemies,” All-Stars coach Nic Cohen said. “The kid started off with a pusher and now he’s flying around out there having a blast every night.”

That’s why, when the Make-A-Wish Foundation approached the Seidl family with news that Caleb qualified for a wish, he made himself abundantly clear.

“He always landed on wanting to be a hockey team,” his dad remembered. “So we passed that on and we worked with the wish coordinators, and they were like, ‘Man, it’s pretty unusual for a three-year-old to want to be a hockey team.’ But it’s amazing. They’re making it work.”

All it took was slightly adjusting the syntax of Caleb’s wish – and enlisting the help of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken – to put a plan together.

“We got to meet [mascot] Buoy from the Kraken in June,” Reuben Seidl recalled. “And we got to meet John Hayden, who played with the Kraken last season.”

The second phase of that wish gets going Monday when the Seidl’s head to Seattle to watch the Kraken take on the Pittsburgh Penguins with a group of family and friends tagging along.

“The Kraken and Make-a-Wish were so blown away by the support,” Reuben Seidl said. “They ended up helping everybody find an amazing seat.”

Caleb will also get to participate in a Kraken practice the next day.

“Every single person we’ve talked to has just been incredibly generous, and kind, and supportive,” Reuben Seidl said. “Just making sure that the family, and Caleb especially, feel special.”

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