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A group of DU students participated in Denver’s Martin Luther King Jr. “marade” which attracted thousands of people yesterday.

The term “marade” is used to combine march and parade and is unique to Denver, which holds the second largest MLK parade in the country. Atlanta hosts the largest celebration. 

A dozen DU students rode a bus from campus to City Park where they were joined by other students who took other forms of transportation.

One of the DU contingents marched with various kites which represent the slogan of “one sky one world,” created by Jane Parker Ambros, the originator of the first three-dimensional sculptural windsock.

“You get the sense of one sky one world when you get out and fly a kite,” she said. “You’re focusing on the sky and then all of a sudden you realize there is only one world. It’s kind of a Zen thing.”

This unique idea of unity was largely supported by Colorado’s blue sky which hung above the countless participants throughout the event.

“I think that the people who are less involved in the BSA [Black Student Alliance] and other organizations may feel as though they cannot properly appreciate what Martin Luther King did,” said David Lorish, a DU student who attended the marade. “Holding these kites can give them a sense of involvement.”

The near three-mile trek began in City Park at the Martin Luther King Jr. statue and ended in Civic Center Park near the capitol. The crowd consisted of students, families, drum lines, and civic leaders.

The list of honorable attendees included Mayor John Hickenlooper, former Mayor Wellington Webb, House Speaker Terrance Carroll and U.S. Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet.