She's a present-day freedom fighter whose everyday life includes battling the evils of civil injustice.

She's been a "card-carrying member" of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) "for a long time."

And tonight at 6, Linda Burt will share her views on justice and equality with the Casper community when she presents a speech on civil rights in Wyoming at the NAACP Freedom Banquet at the Casper College Student Center as part of the Martin Luther King Birthday Celebration weekend.

Burt, executive director of the Wyoming Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), says she's been fighting for equality as director of the ACLU for the last seven years, but her fight for social justice began when she was in college, fighting for civil rights and women's rights and against the Vietnam War.

Burt said that her work with the local ACLU - which receives up to 100 civil rights-related complaints each month, covering a broad range of problems in the state including prison conditions, racial discrimination cases, and discrimination complaints from gay and lesbian students within the state - keeps her busy.

"We try to do as much as we can and help as many people as possible with a small office," Burt said.

Currently, Burt and the Wyoming ACLU are concentrating on issues relating to Wyoming's juvenile justice system, or lack thereof.

"Overall, the biggest problem in Wyoming is there's no specific formal system for juveniles in terms of justice," Burt said. "Most juvenile offenders go to adult court, and children are still incarcerated in this state, even though best practice suggests that that shouldn't happen."

Burt also serves as a member of the state board of the Equality State Policy Center, a group of conservation, union and progressive organizations that supports good government policies on a number of issues.

When she's not fighting injustice or lobbying Congress, Burt enjoys skiing, reading, traveling and spending time with her son and godson. She writes in her spare time, and dreams of soon publishing a novel.

Burt was nominated to be the speaker at Saturday's event by a member of both the ACLU and NAACP boards.

Members of the ACLU and NAACP have historically worked together, Burt said, "because we're connected by our similar values and goals."

In her speech, Burt plans to touch on equality issues important to Wyoming, including wage inequality (women still only make 63 cents for every dollar a man receives), problems that the ACLU currently addresses, and the history of diversity in Wyoming.

"Historically, there's one thing that's held true - diversity has never really come to Wyoming," Burt said. "Even when the Civil Rights Act was passed here, only one percent of the state was minority. Larger areas are still the only areas (in Wyoming) that have any rate of diversity."

And, being experienced in leading battles against inequality, Burt is excited to share her opinions with the community.

"I'm absolutely thrilled and honored to be able to do this," Burt said. Jokingly, she added, "but the speech won't be too long. I've been to some of these dinners, so I know how that can be!"