A Miami tribute to Martin Luther King: pride, hope, BBQ and dancing Bulls
King would have been pleased to see how his national holiday played out in Liberty City. The smell of conch fritters and barbecued chicken filled the air. All the top politicians, law enforcement chiefs, church elders and school leaders marched and waved. Black people and white people lined the route in a peaceful tribute to the civil rights activist and minister who led the struggle for racial equality in a divided nation by preaching nonviolent protest.
"
"He wanted us to hold hands," said Pommells' cousin,
"He was a great citizen who said everybody should have a chance to do what they want to do in their lives," said
Her voice was quickly drowned out by the
Then came a column and busload of
"They're like the
It was a day of pride for the community and for King, who would have had his 90th birthday on
"My mother worked in Overtown at the
"Since that day we've made progress. We have lots of interracial families now. But we still have a long way to go. I tell my children and grandchildren to treat everybody as you would want to be treated. That's the only way things will get better."
Summerset's mother, Dolores, 80, attends the parade every year. She recalled seeing King once in
"He was a man of honor who had a lot of hope for the future," she said.
Summerset's daughter,
"I went to predominately white
Even as the majorettes and motorcyclists and fire trucks paraded down the street, it was a day of reflection. A day of determination to continue King's work. A day to weigh progress and regression. A day of hope. King was beaten, threatened, humiliated, jailed, spied upon by his own government. He confronted American hate in the flesh. But he never gave up hope.
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal," King said in his famous speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on
"We have not yet accomplished what Martin dreamt of, which is true brotherhood and love for one another," Mitchell said. "I see steps forward and steps back. Our youth -- they are killing each other because they don't know how to reason and talk about their problems. But this parade has improved. It used to come down
As employees from the Miami-Dade Public Defender's office strode by chanting, "Know your rights!"
"I always had to use the back door," said Smith, 72. "I couldn't try on clothes in the stores. I couldn't drink Coca-Cola. My schools were all black, no whites.
"Well, I can go anywhere now. But I just have to hope I don't get stopped by the police. That's why we still need
King's dream, that his four children would "not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character," remains unfulfilled but is within reach, said
"I ain't going to lie, things have not changed very much," said Small, who grew up in
"Everyone is getting along a little bit better, despite him. And we've got this holiday! I personally don't care for
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