Parade and Truce Honor King

Before floats filled the streets and thousands of spectators lined up for the Kingdom Day Parade on Monday morning, a few members from two rival gangs quietly met to plan a truce -- and a picnic -- in honor of slain civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Each year, it’s almost a tradition for all the young gang members to get into a fight during or at the end of the parade,” said Shonteze Williams, a self-described member of the Rollin’ 30s, a Crips gang. “This year, we wanted the MLK parade to represent peace and unity for all, including us.”

Police officials said it was the first time that the Rollin’ 30s and Rollin’ 40s, two rival Crips gangs, united peacefully to join a crowd of thousands for Monday’s annual celebration in the Leimert Park and Crenshaw districts of Los Angeles. In the past, police said, the parade along Martin Luther King Boulevard occasionally had been plagued with gang confrontations and shootings.

Monday’s parade took place without problems between the two gangs, officials said.

Parade-goers showed up more than two hours early to claim their favorite spots to watch the 23 floats, 13 bands, numerous youth and civic groups, and political leaders participating in the two-mile, 2 1/2 -hour event.

Police estimated that more than 10,000 people watched the parade, although organizers said the number was much higher. The crowd, 10 deep in some areas, became larger toward the end of the parade route in anticipation of a multicultural arts festival at Leimert Park after the parade. The events were held the day after what would have been the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s 77th birthday.

Los Angeles residents Dean and Efuru Flowers, along with their two children, set up folding chairs before the parade began. Efuru Flowers, 36, an independent movie producer, said the parade helped her family appreciate King’s contributions to the civil rights movement.

“Fifty years ago, we couldn’t have bought a house in this city or put our kids in these schools,” said Flowers, who is African American. “This day means something to all of us, even if we don’t realize it.”

Also among the crowd was Yulanda Jackson, a Los Angeles resident who brought her 5-year-old niece, Nia. Jackson spoke of the importance of passing King’s legacy from generation to generation.

“It’s important for her to know about equal rights for everyone,” said Jackson, who has attended the parade each of the last five years.

The parade’s grand marshal, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, was participating in King Day speeches just before the parade and was a few minutes late for its motorcade. The pearl-colored convertible, with children as passengers, left without him. After about five minutes, the mayor arrived in a sport utility vehicle and jumped into his parade vehicle with the youngsters.

“I would not be here if it were not for the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King,” said Villaraigosa, the first Latino mayor in Los Angeles in more than a century. He was later seen walking the parade route.

Among the groups marching was Veterans for Peace of Los Angeles, whose members carried 12 coffins draped in U.S. flags and signs that listed the number of American casualties in wars, including the war in Iraq.

The display prompted a number of spectators to chant: “Bring troops back home.”

Members of the Rollin’ 30s and Rollin’ 40s said they were determined to keep the parade peaceful Monday.

Rollin’ 30s members Williams and Jeff Harmon founded Unity T.H.R.E.E., a nonprofit group in Southwest Los Angeles that encourages gang members to contribute positively to their communities. When members of the Rollin’ 30s expressed interest in a truce with the Rollin’ 40s, Williams and Harmon set up meetings and the deal was sealed.

During the parade, some gang members wore yellow armbands labeled “Intervention 2006,” so police could recognize them as mediators. After the parade, Williams said, about 300 gang members attended a truce picnic at Leslie N. Shaw Park in Jefferson Park.

“I don’t know of any cases of them being arrested for feuding with each other,” LAPD gang enforcement officer Rodney Carter said Monday evening. “The ones I saw were getting along and participating in the parade together.”

But police reported an unrelated shooting in a carjacking near Leimert Park about 4 p.m. Los Angeles Police Lt. Mark Day said a friend of the victim, an 18-year-old male Latino, dropped him off with police officers, who took him to a nearby hospital. The victim had been shot once each in the back and in the face. He is expected to survive, police said.

No arrests had been made as of Monday night.