Houston, Texas based rapper Trae tha Truth will be spend the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. holiday celebrating the legacy of the late civil rights icon, as co-grand marshal of the city’s third annual MLK Day youth parade.
The entertainer was chosen for the honor in recognition of contributions he made to the Houston community and youth that include an inspirational prison tour, free concerts, donations and relief work alongside Houston mayor Bill White and city council member Peter Brown, during Hurricane Ike.
The goodwill paid off last year as Trae tha Truth received his own day by proclamation of the Mayor and councilman Brown on July 22.
The recognition marked the first time the honor was given to a rap artist. For this year’s MLK parade, Trae will be joined by his fellow co-grand marshal, Praise 92.1 FM talk show host, Brother Larry Jones.
The event, which kicks off at noon on Saturday (January 17), will highlight cultural diversity under its theme of “The Color of Unity.”
More than 40 award-winning marching bands from across the nation and 20 parade floats will be featured.
Among the bands leading the parade are the Crenshaw High School Marching Band of Los Angeles, CA, the Wossman High School marching band of Monroe, LA, the Justin Kimball High School marching band of Dallas, TX and the Booker T.Washington High School marching band of Shreveport, LA.
More than 250,000 spectators are expected to attend the parade, which is expected to last three hours and include more than 36,000 participants, including rapper Chamillionaire, who is also a co-Grand Marshal during the parade.
In addition to Trae tha Truth, the event will honor gospel music artist/ Borae’ Records founder Debra Martin, youth advocate/HCEC founder Fernell Hogan and promoter/youth advocate Richard Carmona.