The City of Ocoee held its 7th Unity Parade and Celebration Monday to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Under the theme ‘The Courage to Believe and Act,’ today’s celebration kicked off with a parade beginning at Citrus Elementary School on Clarke Road and ended at West Oaks Mall in Ocoee.
Rick Singh, Orange County Property Appraiser served as the parade’s Grand Marshal, much to the delight of hundreds who lined the parade route.
As is now well established, the crowd converged in the parking lot of West Oaks Mall and was entertained with a series of outstanding renditions from Tamia Dawkins, a 6th grade Ocoee Middle School student, who belted out the National Anthem and the Garden Community Ensemble who offered up a ‘Medley of Music’ under the very able direction of conductor Dr. Jeffery Redding.
Central Florida Urban League, CEO Allie Braswell who performed the duties of Master of Ceremonies, reminded the gathering that today’s celebration of Dr. King is as much for young people as it is for the older generation.
“Dr. King dreamed that little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers, and you are the realization of that dream,” said Braswell.
Melissa Martinez Hernandez, Director of Constituent Services in the office of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, delivered the keynote address.
But perhaps it was little Daniel Martin, a 6th grader and Winner of Ocoee’s 2012 Black History Month Essay Contest who stole the show with his “Dare to Dream” essay. Daniel recalled King’s civil rights activities and his efforts to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through non-violent means. Paraphrasing from King’s most famous ‘I have a dream’ speech, “We are all equal… even if we look different, we are all God’s creation” he said. “We celebrate the life of a great man by continuing to dream big for our children, our nation and all humanity.”
King, who led the nation’s struggle for civil rights became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work, was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Today’s celebration was attended by several elected officials including, State Reps. Bryan Nelson and Bruce Antoine, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, City of Ocoee Mayor Scott Vandergrift, Eatonville Mayor Bruce Mount, Orange County Commissioner Scott Boyd and City of Ocoee Commissioners, Rosemary Wilsen, Rusty Johnson and Joel F. Keller.
