First parading in 2004, the MLK Monday Mystics was a coming together of four historically Black social and civic groups — Monday Nighters Sports Club Incorporated, the Progressive Black Firefighters, the Down the Bay Boys and the Insatiatiable Ladies. They had one goal in mind: to bring Mardi Gras back to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, like it used to be. Their motto is, “Back in stride down the Avenue.”
This year, the parade has 36 units, including 30 floats with up to 700 riders, rented from the Conde Cavaliers, LaShe’s and Neptune’s Daughters. The theme is “Rhythms of Unity,” a tribute to the soulful sounds of Carnival.
The 2025 MLK Monday Mystics parade was held on March 3, right after the MLK Business & Civic Organization and right before the Northside Merchants parade. Their theme was Remembering Mobile’s Black Harlem, Davis Avenue.
