City schism

Separate but equal? Dueling MLK Day parade "tradition" continues: Who won thisyear?

Dancers from Jack Yates High School dazzled the "Original" parade.
Milby High School's marching band performed along Allen Parkway.
A fun-filled float from Fiesta at the "Original" parade.
The Jack Yates High School marching band performs along Texas Avenue at the"Original" parade.

It was double trouble on the east and west ends of downtown on Monday as Houston's two competing Marin Luther King, Jr. Day parades took to the streets. Pageantry prevailed at the simultaneous extravaganzas, which drew considerable crowds out of the foggy morning.

The 33rd annual "Original" Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade Celebration, hosted by the Black Heritage Society, kicked off at Minute Maid Park, while its competitor, the MLK Grande Parade, launched along Allen Parkway near Taft. Each incarnation offered its own perks: the "Original" featured Jolanda "Jo" Jones, Farouk Shami and the Jack Yates High School marching band and drill team. The Allen Parkway audience was far from want for high school bands, however, enjoying lineups from academies across the city and suburbs.

"The bands. I come for the bands," said audience member Lisa Davis at the MLK Grande Parade, before migrating to the "Original" downtown celebration.

"I usually go downtown," said Mary Doyle, a clerk at Ortiz Middle School. "But our school's band is here this year." Doyle cited better parking and broader vistas as perks of the Allen Parkway procession.

The two celebrations also boasted acts by children cheerleaders and displays of bling vintage car collections.

The elephant on the streets loomed: Why are there two parades? The saga bears retelling.

The Black Heritage Society had been involved in a tug-of-war with the MLK Parade Foundation over the city permit to host the main downtown parade until City Council intervened by revising Houston's parade ordinance to allow a single downtown parade per day. The director of the Black Heritage Society's parade, Ovide Duncantell, subsequently filed suit. In Dec. 2007, a federal judge ruled that both parades could function on the same day.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee took the side of the Black Heritage Society by declaring in City Hall's rotunda that that event was the "unity parade."

The dueling parade dispute traces back all the way to the 1990s, almost becoming an official part of the peace-loving Martin Luther King Jr.'s day in Houston.

Today, the muddy median of Allen Parkway was a decidedly less appealing surface than the broad sidewalks bordering Minute Maid, but both events exuded with joy. In a city as diverse as Houston, perhaps it's only fitting that we have two opportunities for commemorating the civil rights hero.

unspecified

no more trips to Colorado

Bill to legalize marijuana in Texas filed by Dallas Democrat

Photo courtesy of Texas Original

undefined

Texas Rep. Jessica González (D-Dallas) has filed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in Texas. House Bill 1208 would legalize the cultivation, manufacturing, transportation, and sale of cannabis.

The bill would allow adults 21 and older to use, possess, and transport up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana for personal use. Adults could also keep up to 10 ounces of cannabis in their residence, as long as it is stored in a secure location.

Smoking or consuming cannabis while in a public place or in a car on a public road would not be allowed.

Gonzalez filed the bill in mid-November, one in a suite of bills that also included expanding insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization for LGBTQ couples; and requiring landlords to disclose all fees before a rental lease is signed.

Her bill was filed prior to an initiative launched by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on December 4 to ban THC products in Texas entirely.

In addition to legalizing recreational use, the bill also makes provisions for its production and sale including requiring that the packaging be child-resistent and clearly labeled, so that it's not confused for candy.

Businesses looking to grow, transport, test, or sell cannabis would need to be licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. A 10 percent tax would be imposed on the sale of all cannabis and cannabis products. Some of the profits would go towards funding public schools.

If passed, the bill would take effect on September 1, 2025.

Medical cannabis is currently legal in Texas under the Texas Compassionate Use Program, which allows low-THC cannabis to be prescribed for conditions such as epilepsy, MS, autism, cancer, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Some cities have also approved decriminalization for the possession of four ounces or less of marijuana, including Austin, Bastrop, Dallas, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and Lockhart.

politics marijuana