Charleston's 15th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade Monday was greeted by sunny skies, a brisk wind and temperatures in the 40s.
A crowd of hundreds turned out to view the parade, which traveled west to east from West Main Street, around the south side of Court Square and onto Martin L. King Drive before dispersing.
The parade coincided with the federal holiday begun in 1986 to observe King's birthday each year on the third Monday of January, which is around the time of his actual birthday, Jan. 15.
King, who once came to Charleston as part of his work for nonviolent activism and social reform during the American civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April 4, 1968. He was 39. The Lorraine is now part of the National Civil Rights Museum.
Watch for more photos from Monday's Charleston parade online and in the Jan. 20 print edition.
One of the entries in Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Charleston features numerous posters and graphics dedicated to the memory and the impact of Dr. King. (Photo by Clay McFerrin)
