Martin Luther King, Jr Day Parade Coming January 16th

Guthrie’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade will take place starting at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, January 16th, 2023. The parade will travel down Oklahoma Avenue from the Masonic Temple, through Historic Downtown Guthrie to the railroad tracks.

This year’s parade theme is “The Dream in Action, Unity… It’s Up to All of Us.” 2023 Honorary Parade Marshal will be Terry M. Bennett, Jr., who was recently made Guthrie’s new Head Basketball Coach. Coach Bennett is the son of another great Guthrie coach, Terry Bennett, Sr., and he was raised here in Guthrie. He and his family have done many wonderful things to advance the community and to foster the talents of Logan County youths.” It is a great honor to be the Grand Marshall, we all know that Dr. King had a dream and because of people like Dr. King I am living my dream coaching in Guthrie,” Bennett said.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until 1968, when he was assassinated. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, and he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2003.

King promoted the advancement of civil rights for people of color through nonviolence and civil disobedience. He expanded his focus to opposing capitalism, poverty, and the war in Vietnam towards the end of his life. He was inspired by his Christian faith and the example set by Mahatma Gandhi in nonviolent activism. His “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the August 28, 1963, March on Washington is considered a defining moment in the civil rights movement and one of the most iconic speeches in American history.

King’s death was followed by mourning and anger across the United States and much of the world. Beginning in 1971, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a holiday on his birthday, January 15th, in many cities and states across the country. It was officially made a federal holiday by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. Guthrie’s parade has been a tradition running back to the first year after the holiday was established.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade is sponsored by the Logan County NAACP. For more information, contact Rev. Hersey Hammons at HerseyLH@hotmail.com or call (405) 282-5039.