Martin Luther King Day is observed every year on the third Monday of January — on January 20 this year. King was an influential civil rights leader — best known for his work on racial equality and ending racial segregation in the United States. King was chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which protested racial discrimination in federal and state law and civil society.

His life and achievements are remembered and celebrated on this day. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the third Monday of January each year.

Marshaling the parade on Jan. 20 will be Tamara Butler, executive director of the Avery Research Center and Associate Dean at the College of Charleston Libraries. Her work focuses on ecological and educational equity, community building and preserving Black history. In 2022, The Post and Courier named Bulter among South Carolina’s Black Leaders to Know. The Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade begins at Burke High School in Charleston, South Carolina ends at Mother Emanuel AME Church.

The parade will begin at 9 a.m. from Burke High School with over 100 participants, including marching bands, floats and dance groups. As marchers make their way to Mother Emanuel AME Church, they will turn onto Calhoun Street at Marion Square.