Thousands turn out to celebrate King’s lessons at 35th MLK Holiday Parade

For 29 of her 58 years, Delores Reid-Smith has spent her birthday celebrating the birthday and lessons of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

In the early days as a young mother and member of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee, she marched with others – strolling her two young sons – from West Charlotte High, through uptown, to Park Center (now Grady Cole Center) where King spoke in 1960 during his last public appearance in Charlotte.

Saturday, at Charlotte’s 35th annual MLK Holiday Parade down Tryon Street, Reid-Smith watched over the procession the way she watched over her children – her second year as the event’s chairwoman.

It was her 29th parade.

“I’ve always loved this parade,” said Reid-Smith, whose birthday is Sunday. “It provides an opportunity to come out and show honor and respect to Dr. King and celebrate all that he stood for and taught us.”

Like previous parades, her two sons, Justin, 29, and Will, 33 – the ones she once strolled – joined her Saturday at the parade’s grandstand near Levine Avenue of the Arts.

“She thought it was very important that we understood the dream of Dr. King and everything he stood for,” Will Reid said. “She taught us at an early age that equality was important. Especially being young black men, she wanted us to understand what equality meant and that Dr. King gave his life for it.”

It’s also a way for her sons to celebrate her birthday.

“She’s always so busy at this time, so this is our way to not only observe the King holiday, but observe our mother’s birthday,” Justin said. “Call it two for one.”

Supporting the legacy

Saturday, on a bright, breezy morning, thousands lined Tryon Street cheering a procession of high school bands, floats, groups of African-American fraternities and sororities and elected officials in convertibles or walking.

The first official was Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts, who walked with husband Manley.Charlotte City Council member James “Smuggie” Mitchell also walked in his usual exuberance. Close behind was his colleague on council, Vi Lyles, running and dressed in Carolina Panthers garb. To the crowd, she shouted: “Go Panthers!” The Panthers play the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in the NFL playoffs.

County commissioner Pat Cotham walked the route too. But at the grandstand, nudged by Charlotte DJ Nolimit Larry, she danced.

Dave Moses and wife Laverne sat in folding chairs away from the crowd. It was their 15th parade after retiring to Mint Hill from New York, where Dave Moses was a state parole officer. “We come here to support the legacy of Martin Luther King and the fellowship of people being together, trying to make a better society,” he said.

Walter Harrelson brought his 4-year-old grandson, Quentin, to learn about King. “I want him to know about the sacrifices that a lot of people made for us to enjoy the rights we have today,” Harrelson said. “Dr. King lost his life for it.”

The first parades were more like marches, when hundreds made the trek to Grady Cole. There they’d put on a program about King’s lessons and used a photo of King speaking in the building.

He’d been invited by Kelly Alexander Sr. of Charlotte, state NAACP president.

In 1968, King was scheduled to fly to Charlotte on April 4 to campaign for Charlotte dentist and civil rights warrior Reginald Hawkins, who was running for governor. Instead, King had to go to Memphis, Tenn., to help striking garbage workers.

There, a sniper’s bullet took his life

Knowing the struggle

The federal holiday honoring King was signed into law in 1983, but it wasn’t until 2000 that the last state (South Carolina) recognized the day as a paid holiday for state employees.

By then, the Charlotte march had turned into a parade uptown. At the tail end of Saturday’s 35th parade, Delores Reid-Smith watched with pride.

“This revitalizes me,” she said. “It’s just so exhilarating to see so many young people out celebrating Dr. King and so many seniors in groups that know what the struggle is and what it’s taken.”

This story was originally published January 16, 2016 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Thousands turn out to celebrate King’s lessons at 35th MLK Holiday Parade."