Hundreds watch Ocoee parade to honor Martin Luther King
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Hundreds of spectators packed the sidewalks along an Ocoee street on Monday to watch equestrian units, community leaders, dance troupes and rhythmic marching bands pass by in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the slain civil rights leader who espoused peace, racial equality and unity.
“This is a celebration of Dr. King’s message that we all come together in peace,” said Billy Crayton, of Orlando, who brought along his wife and four grandchildren to watch the morning parade under a gray sky and light rain. “That message is still important today.”
The 16th annual Unity Parade and Celebration parade honored King, who was born on Jan. 15, 1929, and became one of the most important voices in the American civil rights movement. Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting racial inequality through nonviolent resistance, King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tenn.
Besides recognizing King’s legacy, the procession also was significant for this west Orange County community because of the Election Day Massacre more than a century ago that is still remembered today.
In November 1920 an armed white mob of deputized residents attacked a Black neighborhood, killing scores of people, burning dozens of homes and two churches, and lynching Julius “July” Perry, a farmer who had tried to register fellow Black residents to vote.
A hundred years later, in November 2020, Ocoee city leaders signed a letter of apology to the descendants of the victims and their families, expressing remorse for the racial horror and vowing “Never Again!”
Monday’s procession started at Citrus Elementary and flowed south to the West Oaks Mall along Clarke Road. Many brought along umbrellas and rain coats. Some found spots along the route by squeezing their foldable chairs in between inviting strangers.
Smiling politicians and city leaders sat on the back of slow-moving convertibles and pickup trucks, waving to the crowd along the route. Some lobbed candies, as young children ran into the street to grab as much of the sweet loot they could grab before racing back to their parents.
Marching bands belted out chest thumping tunes on their drum kits and horns. A woman walked holding a sign with King’s photo and the words “Happy Birthday, Dr. King.”
“You came ready if it rains,” Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said with a laugh to a woman with a large umbrella while he waved and passed by in an SUV.
A white minivan with an American flag and loudspeaker on top broadcast King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech that he delivered in August 1963 during the March on Washington event.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” the loudspeaker aired in King’s voice.
“He was a civil rights leader for everybody, not just for Black people,” said Larry James Wells Sr. of Orlando. “He was a peacemaker. He preached non violence. And I thank God for him.”
Wells missed the 40th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Downtown Orlando parade on Saturday, and so decided to head to Ocoee catch that event.
Wylecia Crayton of Orlando who watched with her husband, Billy, and their young grandchildren, said it’s important that young people today learn about King and what he preached.
“I want them to have pride in our history,” she said. “I want them to know who Dr. King was. Because not everything about him and his message is being taught in schools today.”
Other events scheduled for today to honor the civil rights icon included the MLK Day Parade in Oviedo and the 15th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade in Apopka.
