Photos: Denver MLK Marade Brings Out Hundreds to March

Thousands of people came out to Denver’s City Park on Monday, January 19, to listen to speeches and then march in the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Marade. On a day meant to unify and observe the words of King, groups from the Denver Police Department, Denver Health, Denver Nuggets and Denver Mayor’s office attended and mingled with members of the public; numerous elected officials were on hand, too.

Although the parade was largely about fellowship and coming together, national events and current struggles were still present. Signs against ICE and current federal immigration enforcement were spotted in the crowd, as were Palestinian flags. During the march, former Mayor Wellington Webb halted the procession and asked the pro-Palestinian protesters to separate from the King marchers and the King messages, which they did.

Flags are not allowed at the Marade, notes Webb, adding that his wife wouldn’t let him bring his “Webb for Mayor” signs to an earlier Marade. As a state legislator, Wilma Webb was instrumental in pushing legislation through the Colorado General Assembly to have Martin Luther King Day declared a state holiday more than forty years ago. This will be their last Marade, the former mayor says, but the Webbs aren’t giving up on their political action.

“We need to talk about how we can get Denver, Aurora and the State Capitol taking on issues like de-masking ICE agents. We need to take on issues where Trump has tried to become a monarch. We need to become much more engaged in those issues,” Wellington Webb says. “I’ve never been more fearful of where our country is at this point.”