Four things you should know about the MLK Day Parade in Liberty City
Hundreds will come together in Liberty City on Monday to remember and honor the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. during the 43rd annual MLK Day Parade.
The 2 1/2-hour parade is one of the “oldest and largest” celebrations in the U.S., according to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Parade and Festivities Committee website.
The parade will follow the historic 8-mile route King traveled during his visit to Miami, according to organizers.
Expect to see more than 100 parade participants, including floats, high school and college marching bands, dance teams, civic and church groups and classic and exotic cars. You should also plan for possible traffic congestion.
Here’s four things you should know about MLK and the parade:
Where is it? When?
The parade is expected to begin at 11 a.m. and will run from the corner of Northwest 54th Street and 10th Avenue to MLK Memorial Park at 6000 NW 32nd Ct.
The park will be filled with live music, local food vendors, performers, a craft marketplace and other family-friendly activities from noon to 5 p.m., according to the committee. The “Family Festival” looks to honor and celebrate Miami’s local African and Caribbean heritage.
How is MLK connected to Miami?
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King was a frequent visitor to Miami. Whenever he visited, he would stay at the Hampton House in Brownsville.
The Hampton House, then known as the Hampton House Motel, was “the spot for Miami’s black movers and shakers during the last years of segregation, and the place where Martin Luther King Jr. held court with local civil rights leaders when he was in town,” a May 2013 Miami Herald article described.
King, Malcom X and Muhammad Ali were some of its frequent guests, according to the Historic Hampton House Cultural Center. The motel is now a historic site called “The Historic Hampton House,” 4240 NW 27th Ave.
It was at the Hampton House where King would rehearse an early version of his “I Have A Dream” speech in 1960, about three years before he would deliver the speech in Washington, D.C.
Miami would later become the first city in the country to organize a Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade in 1977, according to Greater Miami and the Beaches.
Expect road closures and detours
Hundreds of visitors are expected to attend the parade and festivities Monday. That means you should plan to get there early if you want to get a good spot to watch the parade. You can also carpool, take transit or use a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft to get there.
But no matter what your transportation plans are, expect to find road closures and detours in the area.
Northwest 54th Street will be closed from 7th to 19th avenues starting at 7:30 a.m. Monday, according to Miami police.
Drivers will still be able to travel north and south on Northwest 12th Avenue and Northwest 17th Avenue until 9 a.m., police said. All of the roadways are expected to reopen to traffic by 5 p.m.
MLK Day and its festivities will not affect the schedule for Metrobus, Metrorail and Metromover, according to Miami-Dade Transit. But buses that normally travel along Northwest 54th Street will be rerouted, according to police.
Those who plan to use the buses Monday should visit miamidade.gov/transit to check their routes that day, especially if you tend to take Route 95 Express Golden Glades.
Miami-Dade Transit says buses will operate less frequently Monday but first and last trips will not be affected.
Who will you see?
MLK’s parade is all about community. You’ll see floats, high school and college marching bands, police officers and firefighters, dance and drill teams, church and civil rights groups. You’ll also see classic and exotic cars, city commissioners and “the biker boyz,” according to Greater Miami and the Beaches website.
This year’s parade grand marshal is Rick Beasley, executive director of South Florida Workforce Investment Board, according to the city of Miami. He oversees workforce programs in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.
If you can’t make it to the parade, don’t worry. It’ll be recorded and shown as an hourlong special by local PBS affiliate WLRN.
If you go
What: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade and Family Festival
When: Monday, Jan. 20, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Northwest 54th Street and 10th Avenue to MLK Memorial Park at 6000 NW 32nd Ct.
Cost: Free
This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 7:54 AM.
