Seeger starts MLK Jr. Parade in Beacon
Please note: Beacon’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade has been postponed to February 17, 2025 due to the snow and frigid temperatures.
Pete Seeger, folk icon and activist, first performed his version of “We Shall Overcome” for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on September 2, 1957 during a meeting between civil rights activists in Tennessee (pictured above, along with Rosa Parks). After Dr. King found himself humming the tune in his car later that day, the song became the anthem for the Civil Rights movement. Seeger recalled Dr. King saying at the time: "'We Shall Overcome,' that song really sticks with you, doesn’t it?"
Seeger, a longtime Beacon resident and lifelong activist, shared his dream of organizing a singing parade in MLK’s honor, and planned the first annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade on January 20, 2014 with the theme: “What Would Martin Do?”
Unfortunately due to illness, Seeger couldn’t attend that first annual MLK parade in Beacon, but organizers relayed the success of the event to him. “He didn’t think many people would show up because it was cold, “ RJ Storm said at the time. “‘Did anybody show up besides you and Dan?’ Oh, just a couple thousand people!” Seeger passed away later that month, on January 27, 2014 at the age of 94.
The annual MLK Jr. Parade continues in the City of Beacon for the 11th year with a community parade and Celebration of Service at the Springfield Baptist Church. Please note: The 2025 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade has been postponed to February 17, 2025 due to the winter weather and frigid temperatures.
