Thousands honor King at LV parade

From his prime parade-watching spot on Fourth Street on Monday morning, Ellis Walker, 66, reflected on the significance of the last Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration before the country's first black president is sworn in.

"It's beau-ti-ful," the retired blackjack dealer said while relaxing in his folding chair in the sun. "Never thought I'd see the day."

Then Walker, a 40-year resident of Las Vegas, began heckling a pair of passing teens for wearing their pants too low.

"Kids these days don't know about Martin Luther King," Walker groused. "They just care about the parade and looking at women. Young people have been crazy since their parents stopped whupping them."

The teens, whose jeans were sagging nearly to their knees, smiled obligingly and hiked their pants up a couple of inches. They also disagreed with Walker.

"We learned about Martin Luther King in the third grade," Ramon Williams, 16, said around a mouthful of braces.

And Avion Johnson, 18, said that even the very young, especially in the black community, understand the significance of seeing a black man take control of the White House for the first time in history.

"It's cool to see a black president," Johnson said, adding that he would have voted for Barack Obama if he could have. "I just turned 18 this month."

Today's inauguration was inevitably on the minds of young and old alike at the 27th annual parade, which drew thousands to downtown Las Vegas on a warm Monday morning.

The parade's theme was "Living the Dream: For One America."

Many parade-goers wore T-shirts emblazoned with Obama's image or that of King -- and some shirts contained both -- as they watched the collection of high school color guards, cheerleaders, baton twirlers, firetrucks and politicians parade down Fourth Street, from Gass Avenue to Ogden Avenue.

Along with cotton candy and popcorn, vendors sold Obama family calendars and even Michelle Obama sugar cookies.

"It's the experience of seeing the actual dream come true," said Scarlett Allison, 32, who showed up two hours early to stake out a good spot.

Along with her two young children, Allison had in tow an "Obama '08" campaign sign and a large framed copy of King's last speech.

"It's the first time I've taken it off the wall," she said. "It's history. He (King) paved the way and laid the foundation. You are raised by your parents to try hard and you can be anything you want to be, but I never thought I'd see this."

Her children will grow up in a different world, Allison said.

"I teach my kids to know the importance of people who came before us," she said. "They also know who Barack Obama is."

Her children, Jalen, 8, and Nia, 4, then recited in unison: "He's the president of the United States of America."

This year's parade was peaceful.

Last year's event turned momentarily chaotic when a teenager fired a gun into the air at Fourth and Fremont streets.

No one was seriously injured, but the gunshots caused hundreds of people to scatter for cover.

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.