Durham Mayor O’Neal Named Grand Marshal Of Annual NC MLK Black History Month Parade

DURHAM, N.C. — Spectacular Magazine is proud to announce that Durham’s newest elected official, Mayor Elaine O’Neal will serve as the Grand Marshal of the 19th Annual NC MLK Black History Month Parade & Block Party. The Parade & Block Party takes place on Feb. 5, 2022, on Fayetteville Street.

Elaine is a trailblazer: she was a District Court Judge for 17 years and was the first woman in Durham County to be named Chief District Court Judge. In the 1990s, she was a pioneer and advocate as a judge around same-sex adoption, supporting LGBTQ families in North Carolina.

In 2011, O’Neal was elected the first woman Superior Court Judge in Durham County. In 2015 she was appointed as Chair of the Superintendent’s Code of Student Conduct Task Force for Durham Public Schools where she worked to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. She retired from the bench in 2018 to lead the NCCU School of Law as Interim Dean.

In 2018, Mayor Steve Schewel appointed her as Chair of the Racial Equity Task Force for the City of Durham, where she led a diverse cross-section of Durhamites to create policy and budget recommendations on complex issues.

In 2021, O’Neal won in the Durham general election on November 2nd and officially assumed office as Mayor on December 6, 2021. 

The NC MLK Black History Month Parade was recently named by the Southeast Tourism Society as “One of the 20 Best Events in the Southeast” and affords us an opportunity to reflect upon the past while seeking hope, determination, and opportunity to act upon the promise of the future.

The Parade, celebrating Black culture, people, and businesses, starts at 12 noon at W. G. Pearson Elementary School (3501 Fayetteville Street) proceeds up Fayetteville Street, and ends at NCCU. The Block Party is on Burlington Avenue (between Fayetteville and Nebo Streets) from 11 am to 4 pm and includes a DJ, food trucks, vendors, Covid vaccinations and testing, and activities for the kids. All events are free and open to the public.

The NC MLK Black History Month Parade is planned by Spectacular Magazine, which is North Carolina’s premier Black magazine providing a news and information digital platform with investigative articles, features, sports, entertainment, lifestyles, columns, calendars, and commentaries that empower, enlighten, and entertain our readers.

Spectacular Magazine discovers and reports what matters most to our readers. We are the premier magazine in NC for Black people. Spectacular Magazine was previously named Spectacular Entertainment Guide when it launched in November 2004. In 2006, the name was changed to Spectacular Magazine and the focus became issues that affect Black people.