For the past 29 years, Carrollton has held an MLK parade hosted by Reverend Willie Rainwater and Juanita through their nonprofit, Christ Community Connection. The most recent parade took place on Jan. 14, starting at Carrollton City Hall and ending at Ted Polk Middle School. It consisted of many schools and foundations including Creekview High School and the NAACP of Dallas/Fort Worth. Afterward, a short ceremony was held in the Ted Polk Middle School cafeteria.

Before the parade was created, the Rainwaters would hold various programs in whatever building was available to them in order to celebrate Dr. King. However, they soon realized their audience was smaller than expected, consisting of those who may have attended Turner or Newman Smith High School. That was when Mrs. Rainwater had a vision of holding a parade instead, allowing them to reach a larger audience.

“I had been thinking about [creating the parade] for a long time before I knew that [starting the parade] was my calling,” Juanita Rainwater said. “I went forward and started to get myself ready for the story that I [wanted to] talk about. All of a sudden, I was in love with [what I was] putting together. Though I don’t do as much as I used to, I [still] enjoy going, talking and working with it.”

The Rainwaters said it was not until they threatened to sue the city that they were able to hold the parade. Even after the parade was started, it took around 20 years for it to be officially supported by the City of Carrollton. 

“They charged us a lot of money just because they didn’t want us to have [the parade],” Willie Rainwater said. “Sometimes we had to pay them [up to] $25,000 just to have the parade. But we just kept fighting, and the community started to support us, [despite] the city [not] supporting us.”

The Rainwaters now work alongside the City of Carrollton and Carrollton-Farmers Branch to boost not only the parade, but also the ceremony held afterward. Because of this, many prominent individuals in the political field show up to the event. Reverend Willie Rainwater even introduced the new Carrollton Police Chief during the ceremony.

“Policemen have to understand that we need our [community, and] the community has to understand that we need our policemen,” Willie Rainwater said in a speech at the MLK ceremony held after the parade. “Once again, we have to become one. The community and the police have to become one, [or else] we can’t do nothing.”

At the ceremony, Willie Rainwater was given three proclamations cherishing him and his work done to better the community both socially and politically. The Rainwater family has been in Carrollton since the 1850s, and Reverend Rainwater and his mother, Annie Heads Rainwater, sued the city and school district in 1961 and won in 1962, allowing all people of color to start a school together in 1963 in Carrollton.

“We saw the need to [not only] bring people together [but also bring] opportunities for young people of our color and all colors to advance in Carrollton,” Rainwater said. “That’s why I’m still going on now. It’s been over 60 years fighting the battle, but I can’t quit now because young people need [these] opportunities to be open.”

Though the parade holds great significance in celebrating Dr. King and his legacy, the Rainwaters said that is not the only reason why they chose to host a parade.

“We started [the Martin Luther King parade] so that [people can] use it as a bridge to come across and become friends and learn from each other,” Willie Rainwater said. “Life is a circle. You start off with racism and if you don’t continue to bridge the gap you’ll go right back to it.”