- A look ahead at the city of Tallahassee MLK Day Community Celebration.
- The event will honor Dr. Kings legacy as well as highlighting those who champion positive change in the community.
Watch the video above to hear from community members, and what you need to know for the parade and festival.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
“I think Tallahassee has experienced so many things that Dr. King has fought for and stood for. Not only on voting issues but jobs and housing and all of things he stood for.”
That’s Sandra Collins, a community member living in Tallahassee.
She tells me she’s experienced the MLK parade before.
“Well, when it first started… a lot of people hear what he did but people have not had a chance to feel it and experience it. I’ve had an opportunity to experience his legacy and his fight."
Monday, the city of Tallahassee will have the MLK Day Community Celebration. To honor his legacy and those still making a difference.
The parade will begin at noon along Monroe Street and festivities will also follow at Cascades Park.
“It’s a glorious occasion, we should all celebrate that and honor and recognize him for the pioneer and trailblazer that he was."
I spoke with Delaitre Hollinger with the Tallahassee Urban League. He’ll also be participating in this year’s parade.
Hollinger tells me about Dr. Kings impact on the city.
“He had a significant impact right here in Tallahassee on our student sit-in movement, on the bus boycott, on the integration of our local facilities. He’s the one who asked ten ministers from across the country to come to Tallahassee and integrate the Tallahassee airport. So, Dr. King had a tremendous and monumental impact on Tallahassee.”
This year's theme is “A Celebration of Community Champions," reflective of Dr. King’s vision of unity and the communities desire to acknowledge and honor those who champion positive change.
“We’ll be celebrating a few people who have made a major impact on our community… civil rights leaders who I look up to.”
Those keynote speakers for the parade include Geraldine Floyd Davis, Connie Evans, Rev. Derek Steele, and more.
Exhibitors and vendors will be set up around the park throughout the event; something Collins is very excited about.
“I want people to not only just come out and enjoy the festivities but to feel it. To feel it in their heart, feel it to see far we’ve come and see we still have a long way to go.”
Also Monday, intersections will be closed along Adams Street from Tennessee to Jefferson Streets will begin at 9am for the NAACP March.
The full schedule of city events is at MLK-Agenda (talgov.com)
