MLK Parade in Meridian canceled due to COVID-19 concerns

The annual Martin Luther King Jr. parade and gala celebration in Meridian have been canceled, due to concerns surrounding the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases reported in the local community.

The Martin Luther King Jr. parade in Meridian was scheduled to take place on Monday, January 18, but has been canceled out of caution.

Pamela Graham, chairperson of the MLK parade, told Twin States News that the annual event usually brings out a large crowd of spectators, and parade participants from the surrounding area. Many coming to the event to view bands, and local organizations parade through downtown Meridian, drawing concerns since the threat of COVID-19 is still present.

“The reason we decided to cancel is the numbers of the COVID crisis is increasing and because of the large capacity of people we draw, we didn’t want to put anybody at risk. We didn’t want to put us at risk, because a lot of our elderly members in the community love to come to our gathering,” said Pamela Graham, chairperson of the MLK parade in Meridian.

She also said the funds raised from both events usually go towards the committee’s scholarship offered to local high school students, which they plan to still offer despite the events being canceled.

“We are still in rhe process of generating funds, because most of our funds raised from the parade and our scholarship gala, we give out scholarships to qualified high school students, and they can go to any university that they choose, and we're not going to drop the ball on that. We still going to take care of that. MLK is not done, we just had to just let this change for this year,” said Graham.

Although this year’s events have been canceled, the Meridian’s Martin Luther King Jr. Parade and Gala Celebration Committee are planning to hold the annual events in January 2022.