The Martin Luther King Jr. weekend celebrations were capped off by a Freedom Parade that took place Monday in Odessa.
The parade, which started on Dixie Blvd. and ran along Murphy Street before concluding at the Woodson Center, was the culmination of a four-day celebration in which the theme was “Act on the Dream” and was put on by the Black Cultural Council of Odessa.
In the past, a march had taken place on Martin Luther King Day in Odessa but this year, a parade was put on for the first time.
“I think it was great,” Black Cultural Council of Odessa President Jo Ann Davenport Littleton said. “We had a very diverse group of people. We had cars, floats and football players marching and children marching. It was an array of different people.”
Numerous floats from different organizations and a few churches were decorated with King’s famous quotes that lined up the parade Monday afternoon.
Kienasha Valentine of St. Matthew’s Baptist Church was one of the many people in the parade.
“We have our own freedom now because back in the day, we didn’t have any rights but now Martin Luther King brought peace to this world and before he left, he said he had a dream, which is the most famous quote that everybody knows and now today is very important because now we’re celebrating it,” Valentine said.
The message of unity was not lost on the parade spectators including Melvin Watkins.
“It’s a time to reflect on our heritage,” Watkins said. “Where we come from, where our people as black Americans, African Americans (and) what we’ve experienced and how far we’ve come, where we are and how far we still have to go and to educate our next generation of what our forefathers went through,” Watkins said.
Jo Ann Brownlee of Midland watched the parade with her kids and also talked about the importance of Monday.
“Today is an important way to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and all of the amazing things that he’s done for our country and it’s important for us to be out here today to carry on his tradition of fighting for civil rights and for what is necessary,” Brownlee said. “It’s important considering that there’s been so much hate and crazy things and it’s important for us to be out here and do what is right.”
The weekend’s events started with the Third Annual MLK Showcase Basketball Tournament, which took place Friday and Saturday at the Woodson Boys and Girls Club.
On Sunday, a Gospel Celebration took place at First United Methodist Church and on Monday morning, the King Brunch took place at the Woodson Community Center prior to the parade.
“It’s wonderful,” Davenport said. “It’s just wonderful that after weeks of planning to see everything and I was excited today.”
Sunday’s Gospel Celebration featured Rev. Christopher Moore, who is the pastor of New Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Houston, as the guest speaker.
Monday’s King Brunch featured Roy Colvin, senior pastor at Parks Memorial Church of God, as the guest speaker.
“Anytime a man of God preaches or speaks and anytime you listen to a quote from Dr. King, it just makes chills run all over your body,” Littleton said. “Yesterday, the minister had a strong message and it was a great feeling. Today, our brunch speaker was very emotional and passionate on his speech on Dr. King.”
Following Monday’s parade, a candlelight vigil by the Odessa Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was held at the Woodson Center.
