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NATCHEZ — Due to recent weather events, the Natchez Branch of the NAACP has moved its annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade to Saturday, Feb. 1.

The Parade line-up is at 12 p.m. on Broadway Street and the parade will begin promptly at 1 p.m., said NAACP Natchez Branch President Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis.

This parade will follow the original route from Franklin Street to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street and end at Minor Street.

The parade will honor all Natchez and Adams County residents who were unjustly arrested, placed in jail, or sent to the State Penitentiary in Parchman on Oct. 2 and 3, 1965, for an unconstitutional city ordinance against parades — an event that has become known in history as the Parchman Ordeal.

Mathis said that honorees may ride on floats or in cars during the parade on Saturday.

Joseph Smith of Black Natchez and organizer of the annual Black History Month parade and Community Block Party in February said he is encouraging those who have participated in the Black History Month parade in the past to be a part of the parade on Saturday. 

“Later in the spring, we’ll look to host a parade that will allow us to celebrate the culture and soul of the Miss-Lou, but we think one big parade this Saturday makes the most for February,” Smith said.