Charleston’s 16th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade will be held on Monday, Jan. 16, at noon.
Lineup will begin at 11 a.m. on South Franklin Street near Family Dollar.
“Churches, clubs, groups, organizations and anyone else that would like to participate in the parade are welcome,” said Carolyn Johnson, one of the organizers of the event, which is sponsored by a local committee.
Entry in the parade is free, and those who take part are asked to display a sign or banner honoring Dr. King.
For information, contact Johnson at 662-647-1346 or Lillie Smith at 662-625-2055.
The Jan. 16 festivities, and similarly styled celebrations across the United States, are a part of 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 worked 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 years old. The Lorraine is now part of the National Civil Rights Museum.
