[This is Part 2 of 2 of the NOLA Post’s coverage of the 2011 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade in New Orleans. Part 1 can be seen here.]
As the parade turns off of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd onto S. Claiborne Avenue, New Orleans’s mayor Mitch Landrieu can be seen just to the left of the center of the below picture.
This is not the first time that Landrieu has been shown participating in a parade here in the NOLA Post. Almost a year ago, he participated in the Super Bowl victory parade after the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl. Pictures of the parade can be seen here.
Members of Alpha Phi Alpha are seen ahead of four horsemen.
The group seen below consisted of firefighters.
And here came more people with the “WE GOTTA FIX US” shirts.
Note the difference between what is written on the fronts of the shirts . . .
. . . and on the backs of the shirts, as seen below.
This young boy was yelling out, “Martin Luther King Jr., Martin Luther King Jr., Martin Luther King Jr.!”
Many families were out watching the parade.
Banks Has a Dream, Too
Below are seen Greg Banks and his wife Tiffani Brown-Banks. Banks is a local musician, and some of his work can be seen here.
“What brings me out here is, actually, I was one of these children at one time, one of these children growing up in an area around violence and drugs, and I saw that if I took that route, I wouldn’t have became anything. So, I stayed focused; I kept pushing,” Banks said.
“Now, I see that violence has taken over our city. I want to show these kids that if you continue to work hard and believe in yourself and believe in God first and foremost, you can make a change. So, I’m here to help these children see that I’m just like you. The only difference is that I saw that opportunity and took it,” Banks added.
The Spirit of DuBois
Although the day is officially to celebrate King, the work of civil rights leaders of previous generations is felt too.
The men above were posing near the King statue.
The King Statue
Below, to end this article, are two images from the King statue in the neutral ground of S. Claiborne Avenue near Felicity Street.
Some students and faculty from the New Orleans Jewish Day School marched in the parade too.
So ends the NOLA Post’s coverage of this year’s King day march.
James A. Robichaux
