A large number of activists took part in the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day march and parade in Denver Monday morning.
The Marade (march and parade) is the only one of its kind in the nation. The Marade gathering started at 9 a.m. at the King Statue in City Park, went down Colfax and ended at Civic Center Park.
The Drumline and Step Team from Denver's Martin Luther King, Jr. Early College led the Marade. Other students participated in the day's events as co-mistress of ceremonies and running with the ceremonial torch.
But a large group of marchers weren't just there to celebrate the holiday. The "Black Lives Matter" group let its own separate march just ahead of the planned marade down Colfax.
Many in the group demanded the release of video footage of the death of Michael Marshall, who died while in the Denver County sheriff's custody in November. Others were upset over police use of force and affordable housing.
"We did not ask permission, we did not get permits, we were not invited," one of the group's leaders said after the march.
The group then went to Civic Center Park, delaying the start of a planned program there.
"It is a platform to do exactly what Dr. King did, which was protest peacefully for change," one supporter said after.
"There's a time and a day for all of this but at that moment when they were interrupting it wasn't the time to do that," another countered.
The regularly scheduled married followed a few blocks behind.
All events were peaceful, and no arrests were made according to Denver Police.
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