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Report on the 2007
Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
March & Parade

 Why we Coordinate the March & Parade
The mission of Martin Luther King, Jr. program is to promote Martin Luther King, Jr.’s principles and philosophy to the people of New Mexico to improve interracial cooperation and reduce youth conflicts in our communities.

In 1991 the Legislature passed a bill creating the Martin Luther King, Jr. State Holiday Commission which Governor Bruce King signed into law on April 4, 1991.

By coordinating the MLK, Jr. Holiday March and Parade, the Martin Luther King, Jr. State Commission is carrying out its mission by creating an event where people of all nationalities, races, and religions from throughout New Mexico can join together and show their support for Dr. King and his philosophies. The March & Parade creates a place where members of the community can not only support their commitment to interracial harmony, but can show their pride and dedication to non-violence and love that Dr. Martin Luther King worked so hard to spread throughout the world.  The March & Parade has traditionally been held during the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday in recognition of Dr. King’s peaceful marches organized during his lifetime to protest racial segregation in the United States.

The March & Parade
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Parade & March took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and began on the corner of University Blvd and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd NE on the University of New Mexico Campus. From there, the march proceeded West down Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd for approximately a mile and a half, and wrapped up at Civic Plaza in downtown Albuquerque. Once at Civic Plaza, marchers were welcomed by several members of the community, and entertained by several music and dance groups. Refreshments of hot coffee, hot cocoa, soft drinks, granola bars, and McDonald’s cookies were served.

   
The March & Parade is so named because while several members of the community choose to march, many wished to create a more elaborate setup to honor Dr. King. These setups include banners, floats, horseback riders, and classic cars & scooter organizations.

Participants
The participants in the march included individual citizens, and also organizations which brought groups of people out to the march. Approximately 1,500 people made it out to march, despite the freezing cold weather and a weather report predicting snow showers. The following are some of the organizations who were present during the Martin Luther King, Jr. March and Parade:

• New Mexico Lt. Gov. Diane Denish   
• The Albuquerque Fire Department & Paramedics
• Albuquerque High School Color Guard

• Buffalo Soldiers
• Office of African American Affairs
• NAACP – Albuquerque Branch
• Sandia High School Cheerleaders
• Del Norte High School Key Club/ Earth Club
• Various Church Groups and Community Organizations
• Miss Sandoval County on horseback
• Miss Rio Rancho 2007
• Veteran’s for Peace
• Isshin Ryu Club, Inc.
• Laguna Dancers
• NMx dancers Float
• Pharaoh’s Scooter Club
• Sandoval County Sheriff’s Posse on horseback

During the march, several members of the community also lined the streets to watch the various groups pass before joining in at the tail-end of the March & Parade.

Sponsors
While the Martin Luther King, Jr. State Commission coordinates the annual March & Parade, we try to keep the costs to the State of New Mexico down by obtaining donations from local businesses. This year several items and services were donated to include:

• Culligan Water
• Coke Products by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company
• McDonald’s cookies
• Cereal bars donated by Wal-Mart
• Sterling Mortgage Group donated coffee and hot chocolate
• Advertising campaign coordinated by David Griffin
• State Farm Insurance, Jesse Dompreh
• AFSCME donated supplies for signs

 
Thanks to Mayor Chaves, the City of Albuquerque was extremely helpful by providing several services which helped reduce the stress and workload of the employees of the Martin Luther King, Jr. State Commission. The City of Albuquerque provided the following services for the March & Parade:

• Street Sweeper to clean Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd both pre and post- march
• Provided the Civic Plaza and stage including sound equipment
• Provided employees to set up sound equipment
• Provided police escorts and traffic barriers during the March & Parade
• Provided permits to march down city streets
• Allowed the use of their conference room to hold Parade & March meetings
• Provided support before and during the march in the case that we had any questions or concerns regarding city laws, applicable permits, food, etc.

 

Media
Public Service Announcements were sent to several hundred print, radio, and television stations throughout the state of New Mexico advertising the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday March and Parade. The PSA’s were aired and printed in the week preceding the March & Parade.  Executive Director, Jo Ella Redmon, also made appearances on radio shows Road to Glory on KUNM, Radio Disney on 1600 Radio AM, GOVTV, Public Access 27, and KGGM Channel 13 promoting the Dr. King Holiday and associated activities.

Civic Plaza Festivities
Order of Presenters/Speakers
2:45pm            Len Malry Jr. Welcomes everyone and asks the audience to stand for the presentation of the Colors
2:46pm            Color Guard presentation/ Pledge of Allegiance
2:50pm            Dr. Sina Soul sings the Star Spangled Banner.
2:55pm            Opening prayer by Rabbi Black         
2:59pm            Lt. Governor Diane Denish gives a brief welcome
3:15pm            Highland High School Concert Choir Performs
3:30 pm           Laguna Dancers perform
3:45pm            Rev Darnell Smith gives the “I Have a Dream” speech
3:55pm            Songs by Saturday Science and Math Students under the direction of Arthur Williams and Debra Johns
4:15pm            Jo Ella Redmon thanks participants & sponsors for believing in the Dream
4:25pm            Reverend Jesse Dompreh gives closing Benediction
4:30pm            End of program

Special Thanks
The 2007 Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday March & Parade was a huge success, but none of it would have been possible without the assistance of several people who helped to coordinate the march. Special thanks go out to the following individuals for their hard work and dedication: