Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Staff photographers Jim Beckel, Paul Hellstern and David McDaniel covered the Martin Luther King Jr. Day activities in the metro area. Jim Beckel said that the positive energy at the parade in Oklahoma City was as high as he has ever been around, no doubt due to the holiday’s proximity to the inauguration of Barack Obama as our 44th President of the United States.

Here’s a selection of their work.

To see a gallery of more photos from Martin Luther King Jr. Day, click here.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Barry Braxton holds a sign and American flags near the replica of the Liberty Bell outside the Oklahoma History Center during a bell ringing ceremony with Lt. Gov. Jari Askins and about a dozen children as part of local observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Oklahoma City, Monday morning,  Jan. 19,  2009. BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Dennis Lewis and his nieces Paula Jones, 8, and Nesha Henderson, 9, march in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Oklahoma City, Monday, January 19, 2009. BY DAVID MCDANIEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Members of Zeta Phi Beta hold a banner as they walk in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Guthrie, Okla., Monday, Jan. 19, 2009. BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Lynn Green waves a V for victory with a cutout of Barack Obama on the Oklahoma County Democratic Party float in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, Monday, January 19, 2009. BY DAVID MCDANIEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

The Star Spencer High School marching band’s drum major Brandon Wright gets low with his baton while leading members of his marching band during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in downtown Oklahoma City,  Monday afternoon,  Jan. 19,  2009.  BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Oklahoma City civil rights pioneer Clara Luper waves after being introduced to crowd inside the Oklahoma History Center where march participants gathered following the walk. More than 300 people  walked along the Clara Luper Corridor to the Oklahoma History Center where there were brief speeches and then culminated with a bell ringing ceremony for Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Oklahoma City, Monday morning,  Jan. 19,  2009. BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

A view of the crowd at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Oklahoma City, Monday, January 19, 2009. BY DAVID MCDANIEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Guthrie citizens march in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade as it passes down Oklahoma Avenue in front of the Masonic Lodge in Guthrie, Okla., Monday, Jan. 19, 2009. BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN 

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

A silent march participant holds a sign inside the Oklahoma History Center after the walk ended there. More than 300 people walked  along the Clara Luper Corridor to the Oklahoma History Center where there were brief speeches and then culminated with a bell ringing ceremony for Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Oklahoma City, Monday morning,  Jan. 19,  2009. BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

To see a gallery of all of the photos, click here.

-Nate Billings



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