Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Society, which hosts the parade. “‘New Day. Same Dream’ reminds us that while the world looks different than it did in 1968, the values he stood for are still essential today.”
The nonprofit calls Tulsa’s parade the third-largest in the nation, with this year’s event featuring over 125 participants. The parade route will begin at the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Hope Franklin boulevards before winding through the Historic Greenwood District and ending at ONEOK Field.
The event will feature schools, civic organizations, faith groups, nonprofits and community leaders. Among them will be the Terence Crutcher Foundation, which will ask Creek Freedmen to join them in the parade.
Freedmen are the descendants of enslaved people who were brought to Oklahoma by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. For years, descendants have pushed to gain full Muscogee citizenship. It wasn’t until July that the Muscogee Supreme Court ruled in their favor. But their citizenship status still remains in limbo.
Principal Chief David Hill in August issued an executive order to halt the issuance of new citizenship cards. According to Hill, the tribe must update its laws pertaining to citizenship codes that reference “blood citizenship” before the Freedmen can receive official status as citizens.
Descendant Eli Grayson described their participation as a “unity march for justice and faith,” asking participants to bring signs sporting ancestors’ names and messages in support of Freedmen treaty rights.
The parade began in 1978, 18 years after King made his only appearance in Tulsa. He delivered a July 1960 speech at First Baptist Church of North Tulsa.
His widow Coretta Scott King campaigned for years for the federal government to establish a holiday honoring her husband’s message. She was successful in 1983, when the third Monday of January, near King’s Jan. 15 birthday, was designated as a federal holiday.
Tulsa’s parade — which has historically faced cold weather delays — is set to kick off at 11 a.m. and will be livestreamed by Fox 23.
Ismael Lele is a Report for America corps member and writes about business in Tulsa for The Oklahoma Eagle. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting this link.
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