The 2022 Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade kicked off at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the Laney-Walker district. The parade was originally scheduled for Jan. 15 but had been postponed due to concern about the omicron COVID-19 variant.
This year the annual Black history celebration, the theme of which was “When We Fight, We Win,” was was a collaborative effort between the City of Augusta and the Augusta Branch of the NAACP, whose president, Rev. Melvin Ivey, was among the vanguard of the procession.
Onlookers gathered along the sidewalk at the Dyess Park Community Center on James Brown Boulevard. Many had arrived shortly after the lineup at 11 a.m., watching, cheering and catching candy tossed by some of the nearly 80 participants in the motorcade.
Among those in the parade were 100 Black Men of Augusta, the Created 2 Play marching band, Buffalo Soldiers motorcycle club, the Securing Our Streets Everywhere nonprofit and many others. The T. W. Josey High School JROTC Color Guard, led by Lt. Col. Kurt Barry, began the march the launched the parade.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering education in Columbia County and business-related topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
