Downtown Wilmington hosts 22nd annual MLK Day Parade

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Downtown Wilmington hosted its 22nd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade on Monday. 

Hundreds of people attended, with appearances from local law enforcement and EMS, Wilmington city Council Members, and North Carolina General Assembly representatives. 

The parade wraps up a week of celebrations in Wilmington honoring the life and achievements of Dr. King. 

Shirley Sharp is a history teacher at GLOW Academy in Wilmington and attended the parade. She said that the holiday serves as a reminder of how far civil rights have come—and the work that is still left to be done. 

“It is a good reminder that we still have a lot of work to do,” Sharp said. “So, I’m happy and pleased with the amount of people that are out celebrating today. It’s such a diverse crowd of people celebrating.” 

On the day of Martin Luther King’s assassination, he was initially scheduled to speak at a voter registration rally at Williston High School in Wilmington.   

2024 marks 41 years since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first designated as a federal holiday, and 38 years since it was first observed.