MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Muskogee's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day parade is not nearly the biggest in Oklahoma, but it is perhaps the most tight-knit.
Everybody knows somebody taking part, and everyone has a bit of Dr. King's wisdom they hold onto, according to Gena Maxwell, who attended the parade with her kids.
“It's not about the color of your skin. Kind of like what Dr. Martin Luther King said, that it's about who you are as a person," Maxwell said. "You treat everybody like a person. You treat them all with respect."
ONLY ON 2: Watch the full MLK Jr. Day parade
James Granville brought his son Jaymeson with him, and shares lessons from the 20th century icon with him every year.
“Don't let obstacles get in the way," Granville said. "Through his time there were a lot of obstacles, and he didn't let no obstacles stop him from reaching his dream."
Maxwell added the community events each year help reach Muskogee's diverse backgrounds, such as her own.
“We're not only just African-American, but we're also Cherokee," she said. "And I try to teach (my kids) all about their heritage and all about their people and where they come from. So MLK Day is just another day that we get to learn more about who we are and where we come from."
While some of Dr. King's dreams of resolving injustice went unfulfilled when his life was cut short, the efforts to achieve them aren't lost in the hundreds who attended Muskogee's events on Jan. 20.
“I feel so emotional about this," said Patricia Harris, who lives in the community of Summit, one of Oklahoma's original all-Black towns on the outskirts of Muskogee. "(This celebration) doesn't have to be big. Even if it's just a few people, it's just so beautiful."
The celebration included activities and live music inside the city’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center.
Deputy Mayor Derrick Reed has spearheaded Muskogee's parade for 15 years, keeping Dr. King's goals in mind.
“That's what we have to aim to do: make sure that justice is in the economic system as well as in the court systems," Reed told 2 News. "We need to follow those examples."
Reed said there were only 35 parade entrants this year. That's a sharp decrease he largely blamed on the cold weather, but he added that it did not diminish the parade's significance.
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