Parade displays spirit of legacy
With “Help Keep the Dream Alive” as its theme,
Texarkana’s third annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade put the spirit of the holiday on full display Monday.
Watchers gathered along Front, Olive and Broad streets downtown to see about several community organizations participate in the parade, which was sponsored by youth leadership development organization Bridging the Gaps of Arkansas.
The Civil Air Patrol color guard led the parade’s floats, motorcycles, vintage cars and horses past a review stand in Front Street Festival Plaza, and children collected candy that parade participants threw to them. Sunny skies had begun to cloud over as the parade got under way about 11:30 a.m., but there was no sign of inclement weather such as the rain that dampened the event last year.
This year’s grand marshal was Mickey Stuart of Jones-Stuart Mortuary. Participants included New Birth Spirit Filled Ministries, Texas A&M UniversityTexarkana, Mount Grove Baptist Church, Red Cross, Showstoppers Motorcycle Club and Calvary Christian Church.
Parade coordinator Brandon Houff said he has seen the parade grow year by year and hopes it helps support King’s principles of nonviolence, which Houff first learned in a local summer youth program.
“One thing that always stuck with me is that nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people,” Houff said.
Bridging the Gaps student Joshua London said his goal in participating was to perpetuate King’s message.
“What this holiday means to me is keeping the dream alive for all the generations to come,” he said.