38th Annual Kingdom Day Parade sees sunshine
Organizers of the 38th Annual Kingdom Day Parade were hoping the rain would lighten up Monday morning for visiting crowds along the route. By 10 a.m., the sun was shining through.
For 38 years, the parade has been one of the biggest MLK Day celebrations in the country. The parade was disrupted due to the pandemic for the past two years.
Parade Grand Marshal George C. Fatheree III, the attorney who represented the Bruce family in the Manhattan Beach Bruce's Beach case, spoke to KCAL News about Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy.
"We're here to celebrate him, to say 'Happy Birthday Dr. King,' to say 'Thank you for continuing to inspire us,'" said Fatheree. "The things that he fought for, 60, 50 years ago, are just as relevant today I think, some maybe more relevant. And so it's really a privilege and an honor to be here."
"I think about Dr. King, I think about folks in the civil-rights movement, they didn't let the rain stop them. They marched rain or shine, so we're out here to celebrate him, celebrate his legacy, and to really amplify his message of service and volunteering," said Fatheree. "It doesn't matter who you are and what you've got, we've all got a role to play. It's really an honor."
"To be here and honor Martin Luther King in this time period, I always think about what he was working on toward the end of his life. And that was a poor people's campaign. And if there is anything that we could use in this city and in this country, is another poor people's campaign," said L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. "And obviously the most extreme manifestation of that are the 40,000 people who slept last night outside in this rain."
The parade began at 10 a.m., starting at Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Western Ave. The parade will travel westbound to Crenshaw Blvd., turning south, then eastbound onto Vernon Ave., ending the 3-mile route at the new Leimert Park subway station.
This year's theme is "Making America The Last Best Hope of The World."
For more information, visit the 38th Annual Kingdom Day Parade website here. For bus and train info to the event, visit Metrolink here.
