Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade in New Orleans – Part 1 of 2

Long before Susan Boyle dreamed a dream, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream, and on the annual holiday honoring him, people all across the United States celebrate this dream.

On this Monday in 2011 in New Orleans, a parade was held in honor of the dream of equality.

The parade started at City Hall and terminated at the King statue in the neutral grounds of S. Claiborne Avenue near Felicity Street; all of the pictures taken in this article are from this vicinity.

Tens of thousands gathered to see the parade; the people shown below were seen waiting for the parade to arrive.

The children seen below were waiting along S. Claiborne near the statue.

And the people seen below are waiting along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd at its intersection with S. Claiborne.

A view looking in the opposite direction shows some parade watchers arriving on the scene in synchronized clothing.

The members of Platta Temple had finished their march in the parade and were standing in the neutral ground near the memorial as seen below.

The man seen below was not the only one showing that sign on this day.

However, within hours after these pictures were taken, a few blocks away, another murder took place, as reported here.  The Central City neighborhood where these images were made has been suffering from high murder rates in recent years.

The wreaths in the foreground of the below picture were just below the King Memorial, which is unseen to the left of the frame.

These people, including the member of the Platta Temple at left, were watching the rest of the parade move down Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Below, two officers of the law chat as the main elements of the parade approach from the southeast along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

A portrait of the man in whose honor this parade was held is shown here.

The Times-Picayune’s story on the parade can be seen here, and it shows pictures of more signs urging an end to violence.

So ends Part 1 of 2 of the NOLA Post’s coverage of the 2011 Martin Luther King Jr. parade in New Orleans.

Part 2 contains fewer but better images, including one that includes Mayor Mitch Landrieu and another that includes a local musician and his wife, along with an interview.

James A. Robichaux