For the first time in nearly half a century, Houston will honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with one unified parade.
Beginning in 2026, the Original MLK Parade and the MLK Grande Parade will merge into a single event, now officially called the MLK Unity Parade.
End of competing parades
The singular parade will bring a welcome end to the city’s long-standing tradition of hosting two separate MLK celebrations. That two-parade tradition was mocked and chided nationally for the disunity it symbolized, a disunity that contradicted the message and mission of MLK.
The historic agreement follows weeks of discussions involving Houston Mayor John Whitmire, City Councilmember Willie Davis, Black Heritage Society President Teresa Brewer, and MLK Grande Parade founder and CEO Charles Stamps.
“I ran for mayor to unite our city, and this celebration of unity in January will be a perfect opportunity to honor Dr. King’s life and legacy,” said Whitmire, when news was first announced in November about the unified parade. “That is why I was committed to unifying the parades. I can’t think of a better way to acknowledge his contributions than by hosting the best parade. It will be a historic day in the City of Houston.”
The first MLK Unity Parade will take place on Monday, January 19, 2026, at 10 a.m. in downtown Houston. The event will be free and open to the public.
For decades, Houston’s MLK celebrations reflected both the city’s size and its internal complexities. The Original MLK Parade, founded in 1978 by civil rights activist Ovide Duncantell and organized through the Black Heritage Society, predated the MLK Grande Parade, which began in 1995 in Midtown under the leadership of Charles Stamps.
In 2018, then-Mayor Sylvester Turner designated Duncantell’s parade as Houston’s official MLK parade.
Unity, finally
Now, for the first time, both traditions will move forward together.
“What you’re going to see on Jan. 19 is going to be something that you’ll remember for the rest of your life. It’s never happened before,” said Stamps. “We’ve also created a template that other cities are following as we speak because they’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Whitmire emphasized that the unification was necessary on multiple levels.
“I knew it could be done; I knew it had to be done, for safety, for expense, and to properly honor Dr. King,” Whitmire told Houston Public Media. “We will have one unity parade on the third Monday of January, Jan. 19. I encourage everyone to be there and to celebrate this great city and its unity and pay proper honor to Dr. King.”
Organizers say the newly unified parade is designed “to present a powerful message of peace, purpose, and progress in honor of Dr. King’s life and legacy.”
Participants, logistics
The 2026 grand marshals will be radio personality Madd Hatta (KMJQ Majic 102.1 FM), Stamps, president of the MLK Grande Parade, and Whitmire.
Co–grand marshals include Debora Nixon, RN, and retired Houston Fire Department firefighter Freddie Jackson.
Special guests are expected to include Rev. Dr. Derek King, nephew of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Jeffrey Peck, the great-grandson of W.E.B. Du Bois.
The MLK Unity Parade will begin on San Jacinto Street and feature college and high school marching bands, floats, community organizations, cultural groups, and more—reflecting the breadth and depth of Black Houston’s civic and cultural life.
Attendees are encouraged to use METRO, which will offer complimentary rides to and from the parade. All three rail lines will run into downtown with trains arriving every few minutes, and multiple bus routes will also connect directly to the parade area. Riders can find route and schedule information on the METRO website.
For many in Houston’s Black community, the unified parade represents more than logistics. It signals a long-overdue moment of alignment, shared purpose, and collective honoring of MLK’s legacy.
