Martin Luther King Jr. Marade serves history less clichéd than MLK menu by DPS last year

MLK.

The weather looks promising for this morning's Martin Luther King Jr. Marade -- a march/parade that's the biggest in the nation. But no matter the air temperature, the atmosphere won't be as hot as last year, when the Denver Public Schools had planned a lunch in honor of MLK the Friday before the holiday, featuring some of the greatest hits -- and stereotypes -- of Southern cooking.

This year, DPS did not even think about serving students Southern-style chicken with biscuit, as well as sweet potatoes or collard greens, the menu promised last year.

DPS didn't wind up serving that meal in 2010, either. After controversy flared over the the lunch offerings -- which did, in fact, include some of MLK's favorite foods -- the district changed the menu and served the kids some politically correct, polyglot tacoroni or other lunchroom staple.

This year, DPS dodged the problem by making last Friday an assessment day, with no classes. Schools is officially out today. And tomorrow's featured item on the DPS menu? Chile relleno quiche.

More from our Education archive: "MLK Day menu at Denver Public Schools proof school lunches are offensive."