Martin Luther King and April Fool's Day

Lori Montgomery:

A committee appointed by D.C. Council member Marion Barry has moved the District's annual Martin Luther King Jr. parade from its traditional date near King's birthday in wintry January to the warmer month of April, when the civil rights leader was assassinated.

This year, according to Barry's office, the parade will be held April 1 -- April Fool's Day.

Reaction to the change has been fast and, mostly, furious. Wanda Lockridge, chairman of the D.C. Democratic State Committee, called it "insulting to all King contributed." Denise Rolark Barnes, daughter of parade founder Calvin Rolark, called it a "bad idea" that undermines a beloved tradition. And Ward 8 activist Philip Pannell, who is scheduled to serve as the parade's master of ceremonies, called it "inappropriate at best and, at worst, ridiculous."

Aside from the disrespectful symbolism of remembering King on April Fool's Day, Pannell said, it makes no sense to hold a parade that marks King's murder.

"If you want to commemorate an assassination, that should be something that is done with some solemnity," Pannell said. "You don't commemorate a person's assassination with marching bands."

No Joke: King Holiday Parade Moved to April 1 in D.C.