Fort Lauderdale honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. legacy with parade, festival
FORT LAUDERDALE - The City of Fort Lauderdale kicked off the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with its annual parade and festival.
Well over a thousand people participated in Monday's parade.
"Everybody is so excited to have this holiday," Mary Davis said.
Few had a better seat than Mary Davis, her driveway was along the parade route.
"A lot of people gathering together, just having fun," she said. "A lot of entertainment is going to be at the (Joseph C. Carter) park today."
It was a family affair on Monday. William Robinson said his parents started bringing him to MLK Day parades when he was a kid, and on Monday he took his son, nieces, and nephews to the Fort Lauderdale parade to pass that tradition on to them.
"It's a unity, it's a community, coming together for what Mr. King stood for and we're just trying to keep it going," Robinson said.
Robinson smiled as his son, nieces, and nephews proudly answered what this parade meant to them.
"Martin Luther King stood up for us, for our rights, so I think it's important to celebrate it," Robinson's son said.
Dozens of organizations, businesses, and community leaders participated in the parade.
"Today is a day that our community comes out and really, the whole city and others from Broward County," Vice Mayor Pam Beasely-Pittman said.
Beasely-Pittman is honoring Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy in more ways than one.
"I am actually the first elected African American female to sit on the city's dais in its entire history," she said
Mayor Dean Trantalis said it's important for cities to honor MLK Day in this way.
"Because every community needs to feel like they are part of the community," Trantalis said. "No one should feel left out or marginalized."