Speech, parade mark MLK Day

Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be celebrated in Spokane today with a march from the Spokane Opera House to River Park Square.

The event begins in the Opera House lobby at 10 a.m. Dave Brown Eagle of the Spokane Tribe will present an eagle feather ceremony and the Rev. Percy “Happy” Watkins will deliver King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Marchers will then walk past the statue of the late Spokane astronaut Michael Anderson, east to Bernard Street, south to Main Avenue and west to River Park Square. Participants can also take an STA bus decorated in honor of late civil rights activist Rosa Parks.

The march will end about 10:50 a.m. with a closing ceremony at River Park Square, where a Resource Fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.