Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas (left) and singer Coco Jones will appear at San Antonio's annual MLK March.
Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas (left) and singer Coco Jones will appear at San Antonio’s annual MLK March. Credit: Shutterstock / Focus Pix (left) and Franklin Sheard Jr. (right)

San Antonio’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. March is the largest in the country, and this year it’s bolstered by a pair of larger-than-life guests.

Gymnast Gabby Douglas, an Olympic gold medalist, will deliver the keynote speech following the march, and Grammy award-winning R&B singer Coco Jones will perform at festivities at Pittman-Sullivan Park. The march will begin at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 19, at MLK Academy, taking a 2.5-mile circuit to the park.

Douglas is the first African American gymnast to win a title in the Olympic games. She was the 2012 Olympic all-around gymnastics gold medalist and a member of the gold-winning gymnastics teams at both the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. With a total of six Olympic and World Championship medals, she’s one of the nation’s most-decorated gymnasts of all time.

Jones, known for an intimate R&B sound with nods to vintage soul and pop, received a Grammy for Best R&B performance for her 2022 single “ICU.” As an actress, she played the starring role in the Peacock drama Bel-Air. As a teen, she was a regular on Disney Channel staples including So Random!

San Antonio’s annual MLK March, typically draws crowds of around 300,000 people and culminates with a day-long celebration. The gathering at Pittman-Sullivan will include multicultural performances, a health-and-wellness area, a youth area, info booths for community organizations, food and merchandise vendors and more.

Douglas is expected to speak at noon, and Jones will perform at 2 p.m.

A full schedule of events and other details are available online.

Free, 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 19, Martin Luther King Jr. Academy for Arts Integration, 510 Morningview Drive, sa.gov.


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Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...