NEWS

King parade draws crowds in Augusta

Amanda King
aking@augustachronicle.com
The T.W. Josey band performs at the Martin Luther King Jr. Parade in Augusta on Saturday. [MIKE ADAMS/FOR THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE]

James Brown Boulevard, Wrightsboro Road, Augusta Avenue, Laney-Walker Boulevard, 11th Street and D’Antignac Street were filled with music, dancing, laughter and candy as the Augusta community gathered Saturday to honor the legacy and memory of Martin Luther King Jr.

Floats from the NAACP, African American fraternities and sororities, Augusta commissioners, first responders and high school bands filled the streets as people snapped photos and posted videos to social media to remember and share the festivities.

Alumni members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority gathered along James Brown Boulevard before the parade.

“The parade is a big part of the community, and we always support community events, but commemorating Martin Luther King is something we treasure and we want to continue to honor his legacy,” member Kela Lofton said. “(He) was a trailblazer for the civil rights movement, and Alpha Kappa Alpha was also a trailblazer because we are the first Afro American sorority.”

While some spectators remember the impact of the civil rights movement from firsthand experience, Karen Denham recalled reading about the events while living overseas.

“I didn’t know how bad the struggle really was, but I hear it now,” she said.

Many vehicle entries in the parade played music from the Temptations to James Brown and beyond, but other drivers selected the words of King to communicate to paradegoers. Some shouted from the crowd that those words need to be heard now more than ever.