Park Hill Kids March For Justice

Local Marade Honors Martin Luther King, Jr.

Six years ago, the Greater Park Hill News published a story marking an important anniversary – an event that had been forgotten by many over time: In January, 1964, paving the path for the passage of the Civil Rights Act later that year, Martin Luther King, Jr. made an historic visit to Denver and Park Hill. One of his stops in the neighborhood was to Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church. From the steps of the great church on Montview at Dahlia, the civil rights leader shared his message of equality and justice to an overflow crowd.

In the years after that news story appeared, local educators have organized what has become its own Park Hill tradition: The annual students’ MLK marade to Montview Presbyterian.

This year, an estimated 600 kindergartners and first grade students from Hallett, Smith, Stedman and Park Hill elementary schools gathered at Turtle Park. Hand-in-hand, waving homemade signs, they marched to Montview. There, they gathered on the steps, where King had stood many years before, and they sang “We Shall Overcome.”

Inside the church, retired Denver County Judge Diane Briscoe urged the students to continue King’s legacy, working toward equality and justice. DPS Superintendent Susana Cordova reminded them to love one another and connect with neighbors.

Photos by Ali Monroe Larson.

— Cara DeGette