Celebrating MLK Day

They were dancing, playing music, and marching down the streets, celebrating the steps heard around the world when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took a stand and led the charge for Civil Rights.

His legacy lives on as evidenced at Biloxi’s annual MLK Parade and the Battle of the Bands event at MGM Park.

The temperature dropped down low Monday morning, but spirits were high as hundreds of people lined the streets of downtown Biloxi, excitedly waiting for the annual MLK Day Parade to get rolling.

Then it was show time.

The Lewis family arrived early, landing a front row seat to the parade. The parade took mother Altmaic Lewis on a stroll down memory lane when she was part of a re-enactment of the Selma walk for Civil Rights. “I had a lady come up to me in tears. She said she was eight-years-old when that happened. She felt at that moment, the same as she did when she was eight-years-old. She told me she didn’t know if I understood how important keeping that memory alive was. From that day forward, it’s been important for me to teach our little ones where we come from so we can understand where it is we are trying to head.”

The parade rolling down the streets of downtown Biloxi was a warm up for the annual Battle of the Bands at MGM Park. Biloxi Councilman Felix Gines said, “It’s all about diversity, the different types of bands that we have. It ties into King’s dream. That’s what we are all about, King’s dream. Ultimately, we are all about diversity and showing each side of each individual.”

Who is more fitting for a battle of the bands than Civil Rights trailblazer James Meredith? Regardless of who you are or where you come from, everyone walked away with something from the day’s events.