A gala Parade will kick off Martin Luther King Day celebrations in Monroe on Monday.
The annual Martin Luther King parade will begin Monday at 8 a.m. as floats will assemble at the Swayze Elementary School and culminate at the Robinson Elementary School.
According to John Russell, II, a second program will be held at noon at the Piney Grove Baptist Church in West Monroe. Rev. L. R. Martin, the only person in the Monroe area who marched with Dr. King, will be the noon speaker.
The evening awards program will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Greater New Antioch Baptist Church.
The speaker for the night program is Bishop Larry Leonard.
In a separate activity teenagers will meet at the Tab-A-Torium at 2 p.m. to celebrate “Teens for the Dream.” The speaker will be Dr. Ollibeth Reddix, daughter of Civil Rights Pioneer Frances Reddix.
The elder Reddix will be honored for her role involving teens in the civil rights fight in 1960’s that resulted in the desegregation of the Monroe City Schools, ULM, and all public accommodations in the City of Monroe.
