Today I visited the East Valley Martin Luther King Day Parade in Mesa, about 30 minutes from our home. It was a very enjoyable experience. Though Mesa is a city of 500,000 the parade had the atmosphere of small town New England parades that I grew up with; relaxed, neighborly, no big floats, with lots of neighborhood organizations participating. Had nice conversations with folks standing around me.
The attendees were more white than black with lots of hispanic folks along the parade route which is pretty typical of Phoenix metro demographics. The parade started off with the Mesa police (and the police honor guard) and fire, followed by the mayor, city council and Maricopa County Sheriff’s Officer. After that it was a grab bag, ranging from church groups, schools (public and private) including the Junior ROTC band from a local high school, local businesses, martial arts groups, athletic clubs, and even a contingent from the Muslim Girl Scouts of America as well as an appearance by some of the Marvel Superheroes! Two of my favorites were the Buffalo Trooper Motorcycle Club, who revved up their engines as they passed the reviewing stand, and the Buffalo Soldiers of The Arizona Territory group consisting of black reenactors of those army regiments stationed in the west.
This was the first King Day parade I've attended. In April 1968 I marched in a memorial parade in my Connecticut hometown after Reverend King was murdered.
Below are Buffalo Soldier re-enactors and then the Buffalo Trooper Motorcycle Club.
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