San Antonio’s 2021 Martin Luther King Day march will go virtual

San Antonio’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day march will take place virtually in 2021.

The city’s MLK Commission voted in August to cancel next year’s in-person march on the East Side due to COVID-19 concerns, according to Texas Public Radio.

Dr. Keely Petty, chair of the commission, told KSAT that the decision came down to the safety of the people that attend the event each year.

“At the end of the day, I will be accountable for persons becoming infected and I say we are not going to do that. I believe Dr. Martin Luther King would do virtual if he were here,” Petty said.

“He would have enough sense and enough love for the brethren to say, hey, we are going to do something different.”

Petty consulted medical officials, including Metro Health Director Dr. Colleen Bridger, and noted that the virus has had a disproportionate affect on African-Americans.

The virtual event will include speakers, scholarship recipients, and opportunites for the community to donate to support the 2022 march.

Last January, more than 100,000 people marched along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive during the event, believed to be the largest in the nation.