What I Wore To The Largest MLK Day Parade In The Nation

• San Antonio's MLK parade celebrates King's legacy and the presence of African Americans in western history.
• The San Antonio African American Museum will showcase the region's rich Black cultural heritage.
• Texas' cowboy culture was shaped by the solidarity between Mexican vaqueros and Black cowboys.

Giddy up hotties, we’re headed to Texas! I flew to San Antonio for DreamWeek over the holiday weekend to attend the largest Martin Luther King day parade in the country. The first march took place in San Antonio just three days after King’s assasination in 1968, and now, 58 years later, his legacy is still alive, with thousands descending upon south central Texas every January to partake in the festivities. 

My trip was hosted by Visit San Antonio, and I stayed at the St. Anthony Hotel, an antique Marriott property where luxury and history collide. The location is just a short 3 minute drive from the Alamo, a missionary church where one of the greatest battles on American soil took place. Tensions between the Mexican government and white American settlers came to a boiling point during the 13-day siege of the Alamo in 1836. American settlers were encroaching on Mexican territory and holding slaves, even though slavery was outlawed by an Afro-Mexican president named Vincent Guerrero in 1829 (for context, slavery wasn’t abolished in America until 1865). Mexican soldiers prevailed against the settlers, leaving 189 American soldiers (including David Crockett and Colonel Travis) dead. The Mexican army spared some women and children and slaves, including one Black man named Joe. His testimony is now the most famous account of what took place at Alamo. Stories of African Americans’ presence at The Alamo have long been buried through time, but a movement is now churning up to unearth those lost histories and ensure they are preserved.

In 2028, the San Antonio African American Museum (SAAAM) will open its doors as the third largest African American museum in the country (following up close behind the National Museum of African American History & Culture in D.C.) SAAAM’s mission is to collect and celebrate the cultural heritage of African Americans in the San Antonio region.

With so much Black history infused in western culture, I wanted my trip wardrobe to pay homage to the Black cowboy heritage of the state. Texas history wouldn’t exist without the rugged bravery of Mexican cowboys, known as “vaqueros,” who taught Black folks how to ride, herd, and handle cattle. That historic solidarity is an echo of Martin Luther King’s dream, “to one day live in a nation where people will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” So I made sure to pack a large statement belt with a signature metal buckle to reference the large ranger belts cowboys used to carry their guns and tools. I also had to have my cowboy boots, of course, and I rocked faux-leather all weekend to reference the real leather cowboys crafted from cowhide. 

I brought three denim pieces: a high-low dark denim skirt, denim hot pants, and tassel-denim jeans from Ashley Stewart that actually belonged to my mom (I got them tailored). I also accessorized with turquoise, a key gemstone in native western culture that represents both healing and protection. And my look was set-off by a crocodile leather bag that I actually thrifted in Paris.

Fashion should tell a story, and in my case, my fashion tells history.

You can check out more details of my fashion, and the fashion of Texan natives, below:

What I Wore To The Largest MLK Day Parade In The Nation was originally published on hellobeautiful.com