MLK Day Parade In South LA Cancelled For Second Straight Year
SOUTH LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - The Kingdom Day Parade, an annual tradition on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in South Los Angeles, has been cancelled for the second year in a row due to COVID-19.
However, a lot of people have made it clear they will still be at Leimert Park celebrating the legacy of Dr. King on Monday even though parade plans are off.
Monday marks Rev. King's 93rd birthday a national holiday – and for more than three decades the MLK parade has drawn hundreds of thousands of people in and around Leimert Park.
Unfortunately, the drastic surge in COVID-19 cases has cancelled the parade for another year, throwing a wrench for many who made plans based around the parade.
"I'm a little upset because I was looking forward to bringing my grand babies out here and watching all the slides and cars and different entertainment and stuff," Gwendolyn Moseley said.
Parade organizers are upset too after spending so much time planning for the event.
But after a rise in COVID cases led to event planners having to pull the plug, community members are trotting out Plan B.
Dr. Adrian Dove, who is the parade committee chairman who also once worked with Dr. King -- said they have set up a COVID testing site at Leimert Park.
"We want to use resources that were put together for this years parade to prevent from having to cancel other things and if Dr. King were here today this would be his plan. On the top of his table," Dove said.
And even though the parade has been cancelled, many vendors will still be out celebrating on Monday with live music and food and are encouraging people to still help support black owned businesses by showing up.