On Monday, January 18, Houston will commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther Jr. with a host of events, including a parade downtown.
You can expect to see marching bands, drill teams, floats and plenty of politicians who are campaigning for the March 2nd primary.
2 On The Beat was a little surprised to receive a news release from the Democratic gubernatorial candidate Farouk Shami campaign touting the fact that he would serve as the grand marshall of the Houston Mlk Parade on Monday.
He’ll march along side one of Dr. King’s nephews.
Kelly Love Johnson who is a spokesperson for the campaign told me that Mr. Shami didn’t make a contribution to get that coveted position.
“He was asked to do it and considers it an honor. He would have participated in the parade even if he weren’t running for Governor,” said Love-Johnson.
I wonder how many parade watchers will recognize Mr. Shami and realize that he is a candidate for Governor?
Meanwhile, I checked with Shami’s opponent, former Houston Mayor Bill White’s campaign, to find out how he will spend MLK Day.
Katy Bacon told 2 On The Beat that White will walk in the San Antonio MLK parade, one of the largest in the country, alongside former SA Mayor Henry Cisneros.
MEDIA ADVISORY
MONDAY: In honor of the memory of Martin Luther King Jr., Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Farouk Shami will be part of the 32nd Annual Martin Luther King Day Parade Celebration.
HOUSTON- Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Farouk Shami will receive the honor of Grand Marshall of the Parade and will be accompanied by Derrick King, Martin Luther King’s nephew.
WHO: Farouk Shami, Democratic Candidate for Governor of Texas.
WHAT: The 32nd Annual Martin Luther King Day Parade Celebration.
WHEN: Monday, January 18, 10am CST.
WHERE: The parade begins at Jackson near Minute Maid Park in Houston.
MORE: Farouk feels fortunate to not only participate in this parade honoring the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, but to have been asked to lead the parade as Grand Marshall by the side of Dr. King’s nephew, Derrick King.
– 31 –
Mary Benton Media 
From Texas Liberal Farouk Shami—Jerusalem Is Not In Texas re: MLK Day – Mr. Shami is wearing a scarf. That is fine. You don’t have to be Audrey Hepburn to pull off a scarf. The problem is what the scarf says. On one side it says “Palestine” and on the other side it says “Jerusalem is ours.”
Does Religion Matter? – Culturally and Politically – Farouk’s religion DOES matter, not as to where or how often he practices or not, but what he believes in, as demonstrated during the MLK celebrations.
Farouk Shami is a member of the Board of the American Task Force on Palestine, as was Tareq Salahi, the Whitehouse party crasher.
Regarding the Palestinian Right of Return, the ATFP states on its website that “The right of return is an integral part of international humanitarian law, and cannot be renounced by any parties”. – back-door means of destroying Israel in the Two-State Solution, which Arafat and others had rejected many times because they did not get everything they wanted.
The Right of Return would result in the end of Israel (the only democratic society in the Middle East), only by different means than Hamas, PLO, Fatah, Hezbollah or Iran are promoting. Not only the Fatah, but Arab leaders and media have unabashedly admitted that the refugee issue and right of return are being used as a means to destroy Israel. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser told an interviewer as early as September 1, 1961: “If the refugees return to Israel, Israel will cease to exist.”