BALTIMORE — For the third year in a row, Baltimore's Martin Luther King Jr., Day parade is being cancelled.
The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts announced Thursday that this year they're making "a conscious decision to celebrate Dr. King’s legacy through a day of service rather than a parade."
They're urging residents to honor Dr. King on Jan. 16 by signing up to volunteer on the National Day of Service.
The parade has not been held since January 2020, because of COVID restrictions.
The mayor weighed in today, saying Dr. King was about service and "that's how I'll be spending my MLK Day."
In an updated statement from BOPA, they say they "don't have the authority to, nor would we ever assume to, make unilateral decisions on mayoral events."
They add that they'll continue to provide support of the mayor's events whenever they are called to do so.
However, City Councilman Eric Costello tweeted today that BOPA's cancellation of the parade "leaves them in violation of their contractual agreement with Baltimore City."
BOPA's cancellation of the MLK Jr. Day Parade leaves them in violation of their contractual agreement with Baltimore City.
— Eric Costello (@CouncilmanETC) January 5, 2023
Looking fwd to talking about this in excruciating detail in front of the Ways & Means Committee. https://t.co/OlYEPcMu23 pic.twitter.com/9fOnEngkKk
Congressman Kweisi Mfume also weighed in on the announcement, saying he was "concerned and disappointed."
"I am concerned and disappointed by today’s announcement. It is disrespectful to tell entire communities that there won’t be an MLK parade less than two weeks before the celebration of his birthday and equally disrespectful to suggest that he can’t be celebrated through both a day of service and a community parade. BOPA is going down the wrong path by making this decision, thereby setting the stage for there never to be an MLK celebration parade again in Baltimore. It's disgraceful,"
