Features to Watch at the MLK, Jr. 34th Kingdom Day Parade Monday, January 21, 2019 ~ Los Angeles, CA

Features to Watch at the MLK, Jr. 34th Kingdom Day Parade   Monday, January 21, 2019 ~ Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles, CA — Dr. Adrian Dove, President and CEO, 34th Kingdom Day Paradeis proud to keep Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy alive as he announces Dave Roberts, Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers as the Official 2019 Grand Marshal.

ABC-7 will again broadcast the 34th Annual Kingdom Day Parade Live on Monday, January 21, 2019 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM to a media audience of over 2.4 million viewers and listeners. The Parade is proud to welcome back its Presenting Sponsor; Blue Shield of California.

Features to Watch at the parade:

• Blue Shield of California presenting sponsor float
• 2019 Grand Marshal Dave Roberts, Manager, L.A. Dodgers
• South Korea Delegation 60 plus members comprised of South Korea’s longtime Speaker of National Assembly, the Hon. Young-Jin Kim is this years’ International Grand Marshal. Pastor Seung Hee Lee will serve as a Celebrity Grand Marshal. The entry will include the Grandmaster Tong Suk Chun, Kim Eung Hwa Korean Dance Company, Voice of Angels choir and Pastor Kang Suk So.
• Congresswoman Maxine Waters will join us as a Long-time Supporter in the parade.
• An Entry comprised of a LA METRO Vintage Bus (circa 1955), representing Rosa Parks, followed by the Teamsters Union (Designer) 18 Wheeler Semi, & the LA City Sanitation/SEIU Local 721 Sanitation Workers’ model Sanitation Trucks. These (3) entries represent a Tribute to the (13 Years) that Dr. King fought for Civil Rights from 1955 to his death in 1968.
• The Opening Mule Drawn Buck Wagon is to symbolize the mourning of Dr. King’s      passing; and the New Orleans 2nd Line Jazz Quartet is to symbolize the Celebration of his Life.
• Tribute to Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle’s, (who recently married Prince Harry) alma mater Immaculate Heart High School. The entry will feature 30 female students, from the private Catholic girls’ school, marching in honor of Duchess Markle.
• Chris “Animal” Hyche of the world famous Harlem Globetrotters will be among the parade participants. He is one of the best dunkers on the team and is fluent in sign language as the child of deaf parents.
• Emmy Award Winning Actor Glynn Turman, the Grand Marshall for the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo will ride his horse with Buffalo Soldiers 10th Calvary Mounted Unit, who are flying in from all over the country to participate in this parade entry.
• Equestrian Units for this year’s parade along with the Bill Pickett Rodeo/Buffalo Soldiers will include; The Equine Advisory Council Riders, The California Park Rangers Mounted Unit, California Highway Patrol Mounted Unit and the LA County Sheriff’s Mounted Unit.
• TMZ Raquel Harper and host of BET’s Raq Rants Late-Night Show
• Big Boy and the REAL 92.3 team will ride in the parade
• 10 High School bands including the Award winning LAUSD All-City Band, Centennial, Inglewood, and Compton High School Bands.
• Kingdom Day Queen and Royal Court
• Our Local TV, Radio, Politicians, Community and corporate and many more surprises!

The Kingdom Day Parade passionately honors the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and has grown from its humble beginnings into the largest and longest running Birthday Celebration of Dr. King, Jr. in the nation! This year, 2019 would have been Dr. King’s 90th birthday. Although he never reached the age of 40, his legacy will live forever. This years’ theme is “Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds, Healthy Democracy”.

The three 3-Mile parade route begins @ 10:15 AM at Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd & Western Avenue, proceeds west to Crenshaw and then South thereupon to Vernon Ave, with a Post-Parade festival at the Leimert Park ending of the Parade.

Tens of thousands of spectators every year line the parade route which has remained true to its roots, still winding through the same inner-city streets in South Central Los Angeles. Some of the most enthusiastic spectators reserve side walk space with sleeping bags, as early as the night before in what has become a unique Kingdom Day Los Angeles tradition. The Parade features more than 150 units involving over 3,000 individuals including Special Community Service Honorees and other Heroes and Sheroes including the Kingdom Day Parade Queen, Her Royal Court and the Scholarship Program. Also, featured are elaborate Floats, Marching Bands, High School and Middle School Drill Teams, Novelty Acts, Equestrian Units, and an exciting turn-out of Celebrities, Entertainment Legends, and Community Leaders.

 U.S. Senator Kamala Harris was the 2018 Grand Marshall. Among other past ParadeGrand Marshalls are, Stevie Wonder, The Godfather of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday national holiday recognition, Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Karen Bass, Governor Jerry Brown, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Mayor Eric Garcetti, Councilmembers Herb J. Wesson, III and Curren Price, TV Host Steve Harvey, LA Dodger’s star Matt Kemp, Little Richard, dance legend Debbie Allen, former Police Chief Bernard Parks, media mogul Danny Bakewell, Sr. and a host of other very special people.

The Kingdom Day Parade’s community and corporate/supporters include the current Presenting Sponsor, Blue Shield of California. Additional sponsors include the Los Angeles Dodgers and The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, Farmers Insurance, Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw Mall, Wells Fargo Bank, U.S. Bank, KNBC Channel 4, KTLA Channel 5, Radio Free 102.3 KJLH, The Real 92.3 Home of “Big Boy”: 94.7 The Wave, Power 106 (105.9) Hip Hop Live; KDAY 93.5- Back in the Day, Downtown LA Motors-Mercedes, AIDS HealthCare Foundation, Denny’s Crenshaw, LAUSD’s Beyond The Bell, McDonalds, and Wescom Credit Union. The Parade is also appreciative of the in-kind and moral support from the City and County of Los Angeles and their various departments, as well as the Los Angele Unified School District and METRO, along with the businesses and residents and the alignment.

About the Kingdom Day Parade

The Kingdom Day Parade is way more than just another parade. The unique purpose of this Parade is celebrated each year on the only Holiday whose sole purpose is to embrace all segments or identities in our democracy and the world. It is dedicated to the conscious aggressive non-violent pursuit of Dr. King’s noble goals.

In America’s current somewhat divided year, the mission of bringing people back together is needed now more than ever. Our Work Is Not Yet Done! More than just a one-day event, the Kingdom Day Parade and its Organizing Sponsor, CORE-CA, have a year round focus of bringing everybody back together in harmony in the spirit of Dr. King. It  was conceived more than 37 years ago as a small neighborhood tribute to the life, work, dream, and spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Since its inception, Stevie Wonder, completed a successful nationwide effort that resulted in Dr. King’s birthday becoming a National Holiday, on the third Monday in January every year. It was the untimely death of the original founder Larry Grant seven years ago, that Dr. Adrian Dove, who had been (and still is) Chairman of the Parade’s Organizing Sponsor (CORE-CA), stepped forward and has continued management of the Parade with the help of a strong team of volunteers and professional staff. The Parade has continued to grow, evolving into the major iconic event it has become today while remaining on the same inner-city streets in the same spirit that it began with. With an emphasis on community, welcoming everybody as equals.