Denver Takes to the Streets for MLK Day Marade

The annual Martin Luther King Day Marade called those who are political-, social-, and racial justice-minded to Denver’s City Park on Monday, January 20. This year’s theme was “A Day On Not a Day Off: Renewed Dedication to Humanity.”

The 2020 MLK Marade took a 5K walk from the I Have a Dream Memorial to the Greek Theater at Civic Center Park in downtown Denver. The final ceremony, which is expected to start at about 1 p.m., will lay an honorary wreath and will have live speakers paying respects and honoring Martin Luther King.

The history of Colorado’s MLK Day Marade dates back to April 4, 1985 when Colorado’s Governor Dick Lamm signed the legislation into law making the birth date of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a Colorado holiday. At that time, State Representative Wilma Webb announced that Colorado would have the first-ever Marade, a word created by merging the words march and parade.

“My relationship with the King family goes really far back,” Webb told KUNC in a recent interview. “I felt that it was my duty and my responsibility to try to do whatever I could in terms of their values, in terms of their principles, in terms of their humanitarian efforts. I thought the least that I could do was to have him recognized not only for what he did, but for all of the contributions of particularly African American people at that time.”

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This year, groups such as Colorado Black Women for Political Action gathered while individual legislators like Candi CdeBaca called on folks in her own district to show up and demonstrate in honor of the message that MLK carried.

“Join #District9 and our beloved friends & partners as we march to demand a revival of Dr. King’s revolutionary message of justice for the poor. Dr. King’s legacy has been co-opted and sanitized in the service of upholding an economic structure that, to function, depends on racism and the exploitation of our labor and our planet. We are watching that economic structure harm more of us now more than ever. Let’s take a stand #To9ether—and pick up where his story left off.” said CiDiBaca in a Facebook event message.

For many, the MLK Day Marade is a way to exercise voice and to hold those in power accountable to protecting and serving their constituents.

The brisk morning brought in temperatures of just below 40 degrees; however, that did not discourage the thousands from taking to the street to not only march in honor of MLK but to also distribute blankets and winter clothing to those in need.

Same as the year before, organizers also collected old cell phones, non-perishable food, and children’s books. The phones are to be refurbished and donated to battered woman shelters, senior centers, and other places in need of help.