The Garland Unit of the NAACP will host its annual Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration Saturday, Jan. 15, and Sunday, Jan. 16. The theme for this year’s festivities is “Honoring Dr. King during COVID-19.”
The parade will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 15. The route is as follows:
- Dairy Road at Garden Drive (north) to Highway 66 (Avenue D)
- Avenue D (west) to First Street
- First Street (north) to Highway 66 (Avenue B)
- Avenue B (west) to Glenbrook Drive
- Glenbrook Drive (north) to Austin Street (east) to 300 North Fifth Street
- Parade ends at the Granville Arts Center
The entry fee for the parade is $10. Visit www.garlandtxnaacp.org and select MLK events. Then scroll down and print the 2022 MLK parade and/or MLK Youth Extravaganza form. The deadline to enter is Jan. 10, 2022.
Other related events include:
- MLK Youth Musical “Life Every Voice and Sing” at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15
- Youth Extravaganza Sunday, Jan. 16, at 4 p.m.
- These events are free and will be held in the Brownlee Auditorium at the Granville Arts Center.
The Garland Unit of the NAACP has an impressive list of important accomplishments and highlights to its credit. The organization has also enjoyed distinguished leadership throughout its existence. The current president is Ricky McNeal who began serving in 2012 as interim president. Other presidents include:
- Goldie Locke – Founding President
- L. Bryant
- Marvin Burrell
- Leala Green
- J. Williams
About: The Garland Unit of the NAACP was chartered July 6, 1984, with 127 members. Ms. Goldie Locke served as founding president and Mr. Johnnie O. Steadham was first vice president, along with 18 Executive Committee members. Two of the original 18 board members are still active: Mr. Chester Johnson currently serves as chair of Legal Redress and Ms. Carol Montgomery is active on two committees. Mr. Richard Dockery, NAACP regional director, chaired the standing-room-only organizational meeting where two key issues were addressed: 1). the firing of African American police officer Sam Allen; 2). substandard schools in the minority area of Garland. Mr. Sam Allen was later rehired as a Garland firefighter. To address schools, the Garland Unit became a plaintiff to the original school desegregation court order filed by the United States Justice Department and the Texas Education Agency. This judgment remains in effect.