‘You cannot give up hope’ message resonates at Fort Worth’s MLK parade

Kristin Vinson Wright grew up going to a parade honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. every year.

She still goes. As an adult, it means more to her now.

“It’s not just a free holiday,” said Wright, of Fort Worth. “It’s really a day to work on your own goals and see how you can make a difference.”

Wright was among the throngs of people lining downtown Fort Worth Monday morning, watching as bands, elected officials, community activists and more marched to celebrate and remember King and his fight for civil rights.

It is more important now than ever, many said, to embrace King’s work.

This message comes on the first Martin Luther King Jr. holiday of Republican Donald Trump’s presidency, as the president faces a racial backlash after being accused of using the word “sh**hole” to describe African countries.

“You can be forgiven if you look at what’s going on on the national scene and you decide that it’s midnight in America,” Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks told the crowd during a rally after the parade. “But you cannot be forgiven if you give up hope.

“You cannot give up hope because, after midnight, comes the dawn.”

And that’s when honest, compassionate and loving people will “get together ... to make some changes,” Brooks said.

Those who marched in the parade put on by the Greater Fort Worth Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Committee included elected officials such as U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, Democratic state Reps. Ramon Romero and Nicole Collier of Fort Worth, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley and Tarrant County Justice of the Peace Sergio de Leon.

Other marchers carried signs that stated “Stand Against Hate,” “I still have a dream,” “I am the dream” and “AIDS is a Civil Rights Issue” as they wove their way through downtown streets, ending up at Sundance Square.

They wanted to remember King, who was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, for all his work, particularly his “I Have a Dream” speech at a peaceful 1963 march in Washington, D.C.

“He was trying to change the laws to mix people together to know each other,” said Reginae Jackson, an 8-year-old third grader who watched the parade with her guardian. “I want to learn more about him.

“But this is time to celebrate him.”

Many may not know that King visited Fort Worth on Oct. 22, 1959, speaking downtown at what was then the Majestic Theater on Commerce Street.

He spent the night before at a home on Evans Avenue before talking to hundreds about how it was “A Great Time to Be Alive.”

As a result of his years of work, “we are better than we used to be,” Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said during the rally. “And with Dr. King’s words to guide us, we will get better.”

She and others encouraged the crowd to participate in the day of service, doing things both big and small to help others.

Arlington parade

Monday’s Fort Worth parade was separate and unrelated to the controversial Toyota North Texas Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade & Celebration in Arlington that was canceled.

Arlington officials late last week declined to issue a permit for the parade, which was to feature Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as honorary grand marshal, saying organizers didn’t pay the full amount required for logistics including security.

Critics had already announced plans to boycott the parade, saying the governor shouldn’t be part of the celebration because his work includes sanctuary cities legislation and requiring Texans to have photo IDs to vote, which traditionally disenfranchises some minority voters.

Organizers appealed the city’s decision on the permit and lost.

“These past two weeks of media coverage on the threat of a boycott really escalated into something we never would have imagined,” Winsor Barbee, executive producer of the parade, wrote in a letter to supporters. “It became a bitter attack.

“It was highly emotional and became political. It was also filled with people’s personal interests. They have planted bad seeds all in the name of boycotting the governor,” she wrote. “We worked to set the tone of the parade as INCLUSIVE and not exclusive. If people wanted to address the governor’s participation, there were other alternatives instead of boycotting. ... The parade boycott shows that in 2018 we still have work to do and mountains to climb.”

Texas Democrats on Monday agreed.

“The march toward justice is nowhere near over,” according to a statement by Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa. “Sadly, elected officials, like Greg Abbott, love an excuse to ride in a parade and pay lip service to Dr. King’s legacy as they actively stand in the way of the human, civil and voting rights of Texans.

“While we’ve made great strides, Dr. King’s dream of a fair and equitable America is not fully realized. Now more than ever, we must stand up for what we know to be right and speak the uncomfortable truths to build on the progress Dr. King and so many champions of justice started.”

This story was originally published January 15, 2018 at 2:17 PM with the headline "‘You cannot give up hope’ message resonates at Fort Worth’s MLK parade."