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By Kris Harrell

Butler County Concern Citizens held their annual Martin Luther King Day Parade, celebrating the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the holiday named in his honor. 

The group has been organizing the parade for the past five years for the citizens of Greenville and the surrounding cities.

“Most of the cities around the state of Alabama and around the United States have some type of parade as acknowledgement of Dr. King during this holiday, so we wanted to bring that to Greenville,” said Butler County Concern Citizens founder and board chairman Kenneth Crum. “We felt that it was a matter of putting our heads together deciding this is what we want to do, and that’s what we did.”

On Jan 20, classic cars, trucks and walking groups started lining up on Herbert Street at 10:30 a.m. Then at 12 p.m. the participants rode down in the downtown area of Greenville. 

Despite the cold temperatures on that Monday, Butler County Concern Citizens and participants continued with the parade. 

“It was a great parade considering the situation,” said Robert Blankenship, president of Butler County Concern Citizens and founder of the MLK Day Parade. “We had people that came out with the weather, [and] we had a nice crowd that was on the street. It was a success. We were really glad that the people that turned out [did] because it had shown they were dedicated to being there. So we appreciate their commitment to coming out.” 

During the parade, the group honored Gertrude Fails-Payne as grand marshal. Although she was not able to attend, a car was driven by Nathania Walters displaying Fails-Payne’s portrait in her honor. 

“Ms. Gertrude Fails-Paine is a matriarch of our community, and for her to be 100-years-old, we wanted to honor her, because she has paved the way for younger generations coming up after her,” Crum said.  “It was just a heartfelt thank you and appreciation to her to be able to honor her like that.”

Butler County Concern Citizens’ next event will be a Valentine’s Day ball on Feb. 14 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m. at the Crum building. 

The group wishes to thank Carolyn Smith, who served as the emcee of the parade, mentioning each of the participating entries as they passed by. Additionally, BCCC wishes to thank the younger generation of Butler County Concern Citizens including Brittany Blankenship, Rosena Womack, Jeremy Crum and Brian Crum. 

For more information, please visit the Butler County Concern Citizens social page.