Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. on parade
Those at parade decry Trump’s recent tweets about Lewis
Kashmere High School senior Zach Johnson performs Monday in the MLK Grande Parade, held to honor the slain civil rights leader. President-elect Donald Trump’s clash with Rep. John Lewis cast a cloud over some holiday festivities.
After Curtis Evans Jr. watched the Black Heritage Society’s Martin Luther King Jr. Parade on Monday, he walked along Texas Avenue, reflecting on unity.
The theme was particularly significant to Evans, 26, after a weekend reading social media responses to Presidentelect Donald Trump’s attacks on Rep. John Lewis, the Democratic congressman from Georgia and civil rights leader.
After Lewis questioned the legitimacy of Trump’s presidency, the real estate mogul said in two Twitter posts that Lewis “should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to … mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk — no action or results. Sad!”
Trump’s supporters, including Vice Presidentelect Mike Pence, said Trump was elected fairly and criticized Lewis for doubting the election’s results.
“When (Lewis) makes a comment about the illegitimacy of an election and the illegitimacy of the president, I think that really undermines the work that John Lewis has done because he’s been such a champion and a hero of voting rights and working to get more people to vote,” incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer told CBS on Monday.
met with King’s eldest son in an effort to smooth tensions with black citizens, the New York Times reported.
Still, Houstonians attending parades honoring King decried Trump’s insults, fired off days before the federal holiday, as they celebrated with dancing and music.
“It’s a slap in the face for all Americans to have an incoming president saying that about a civil rights icon,” said Evans, who works in hospitality.
Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis said Trump’s words were on his mind as he volunteered at Finnigan Park and Evergreen Cemetery and marshaled the Black Heritage Society’s parade on Monday morning.
He had considered attending inaugural events in D.C. but decided this weekend that he would not go.
“I was very offended by (Trump’s) comments,” Ellis said. “Today is a day of reflection and a time not just to reflect on how far we’ve come but also reflect on how far we have to go.”
Amid the crowds lining San Jacinto were images of President Barack Obama printed onto Tshirts and hats. Dancers and cheer squads moved down the street in formation, cheered along by attendees.
To Donald Fowler Sr., 68, Lewis was right to question the election’s results. Fowler, who is retired, said he saw Trump’s reaction as a sign that the presidentelect would not try to appeal to those who voted for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, the candidate Fowler preferred.
The parade to honor King, said government employee Angel Patton, was especially significant this year because it was the last under Obama’s presidency.
Patton, 37, liked that Obama “didn’t respond to every little criticism” and said Trump’s response to Lewis showed skewed priorities. “We’ve got more pressing things,” she said. Dennis Strang, 43, said he didn’t want Trump’s election to fray racial unity.
A member of Lewis’ fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma, Strang teaches Texas history to students at Cy-Fair’s Hopper Middle School and hopes events like Monday’s parade bring the civil rights movement alive for kids.
Lewis, he said, fought for Americans, regardless of race and gender.
“It’s disgraceful,” Strang said of Trump, “to have a president divide us right off the bat.”