MLK Day in Houston: pick your parade

Why have one parade when you can have two? That's our philosophy, and the federal judge who ruled last week that the city must allow both competing MLK, Jr. day parades to march through downtown agrees.

The city had previously only granted the necessary parade permit to Charles Stamps of the MLK Parade Foundation, much to the chagrin of Ovide Duncantell of the Black Heritage Society. Duncantell filed suit against Bill White (unheard of!) and Public Works Director Michael Marcotte for violating his First Amendment rights. Mayor White did not seem displeased with the results of the case:

There is no black letter of law saying where the line is. The courts are in the business of interpreting the Constitution, and we hope they'll interpret it the way we've interpreted it. We like parades in Houston.

Of course we like parades in Houston, and the more the merrier. Both parades run the same 1.5 mile route, beginning at Texas and Jackson (near Minute Maid Park). The Martin Luther King, Jr. Grande Parade begins at 10am and the Black Heritage Society Parade begins at 2:30pm, so there's no excuse not to celebrate. Also note that admission to the Houston Zoo will be free all day.