Following a busy weekend of pre-holiday celebrations, festivities for this year’s Martin Luther King Day reached their peak Monday morning with the annual MLK parade followed by a special program at Escambia County High School.

A total of 91 participants marched on foot or rode everything form motorcycles and classic cars to horses along the route stretching from Houston Avery Park to ECHS.

This year’s parade, coordinated by the Concerned Citizens of Atmore, was a wonderfully uplifting event according to CCA Treasurer Katrina Wallace.

“It was an overwhelming success,” Wallace said.

During a special ceremony at ECHS following the parade CCA President Dr. Rev. Coleman M. Wallace, Sr. said the point of all the celebration surrounding King’s birthday is to remind people in the community of the importance of unity.

“We’re here to be unified,” Wallace told the crowd.

Wallace added that Monday’s holiday also serves as a day to remember the life of a man who died for his ideals.

“Martin became the modern day martyr for rights and freedom,” he said.

Monday’s service also featured a presentation of the Langston Hughes poem “The Negro Mother” by Mildred Poindexter as well as performances from the ECHS Sound of Atmore choral ensemble led by D.K. Grisset.

Following the performances local community service groups gave a brief presentation to the crowd outlining what each group does to assist residents in the Atmore area. Organizations represented included: American Red Cross; Public Transportation; Atmore Christian Care Ministries; Area Agency on Aging; Atmore Fire Department; Atmore YMCA; Atmore Nursing Center; Save-A-Life.

The CCA, in coordination with American Red Cross, also held a blood drive in the ECHS gymnasium throughout the day Monday.