Judge hopes to resolve King Parade dispute

HOUSTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Houston may have only a single parade this year in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. after years of dueling events to honor the slain civil rights leader.

State District Judge John Coselli ordered a mediation session Jan. 9 for Charles Stamps, head of the MLK Grand Parade Foundation, and Ovide Duncantell of the Black Heritage Society, the Houston Chronicle reported.

"The parties have agreed, in principle, to the concept of a joint parade," Coselli said after a full day's hearing. "You made progress today that hadn't been made before."

Duncantell ran the parade for 20 years until the mid 1990s when Stamps, a volunteer with the society, formed the foundation and launched his own parade. This year, Stamps has secured a permit for a Jan. 15 parade while Duncantell does not yet have one.