LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The 2025 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Parade is just around the corner, and Channel 13 and Vegas 34 are proud to once again be your official broadcast partners!
The parade is happening Monday, Jan. 20, in downtown Las Vegas. It's a day that brings the community together year after year to celebrate Dr. King's legacy.
It's also about uplifting our community, and that includes our youth.
I want to introduce you to this year's Junior Grand Marshals for the parade: Chordonn Allen and Kash Williams—two impressive and humble local students and emerging leaders.
Chordonn Allen
Chordonn Allen is a Las Vegas native and current UNLV student studying business marketing. He said he grew up going to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Parade and he's thrilled to be a special part of it this year.
"It means a lot, and I'm actually, just being a Junior Grand Marshal, learning the significance and the history behind it, meeting Mr. Wendell P. Williamsand just talking to him about it, him telling me his journey of how he got it started, it means a lot to be a part of it, and it means a lot to the city for sure," Allen said.
Allen is the founder of Kozy Studios Apparel, a streetwear line that celebrates culture, individuality and community. You can follow him on Instagram at @kozystudios_.
He's big on entrepreneurship and opportunity and hopes to someday be a prominent leader in this community, just like his mentors.
"One thing about my city that I love is that our Black leaders reach out to our community and provide opportunities, and that's what I want to be for my community as well, is one of those people that can provide those opportunities so that we're not left behind in a sense, or looking out for our opportunities, asking where our opportunities are at. I want to be one of those people that if you need an opportunity, I'm the person," Allen said.
As for his other involvement in the community, Allen co-hosts the Business Information Buffet Podcast, creating a platform for conversations about entrepreneurship and other topics.
Allen credits his passion for community service and leadership to his time with Alpha Men and Divas of Tomorrow (AMDOT), a youth group under Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. You can read more about Chordonn Allen here.
Kash Williams
Kash Williams is also a valley native, and she's currently a student at Cheyenne High School, where she serves as president of the Black Student Union.
"To advocate for students that look like me — it's very important for me to showcase that we can do this, too," Williams said.
Williams is passionate about serving her community and plans to one day serve our country in the U.S. Army Reserve. She also hopes to get into the construction and home-building industry, with the goal of creating affordable housing and helping her community build generational wealth.
"It's very important for me to advocate and actually be able to come up with an architectural plan to house people in need," she said.
She said it was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who inspired that passion for community and service.
"I do it for the youth, I do it for the people under me that's coming after me because that's what Martin Luther King did it for. He did it for us. We're literally living his dream," she said.
She's so thrilled to be honored as a Junior Grand Marshal for this year's parade, and she said her family is incredibly proud.
"They're so happy for me, because where I come from, for me to go as far as I'm going, it wasn't expected," she said.
You can learn more about Kash Williams here.
How to watch the 2025 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Parade
The parade kicks off on Monday, Jan. 20 at 10 a.m. in downtown Las Vegas. If you're not able to make it, don't worry — we've got you covered. We'll be airing a special LIVE broadcast on Vegas 34 from 10 a.m. to noon, along with a re-broadcast of the parade at 2 p.m. later that day on Channel 13.
