Jacksonville, FL. —
Even in the midst of a pandemic, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is being widely acknowledged throughout Jacksonville.
“He is somebody who fought and advocated his life to make things fair for everyone,” Antwan Tolbert said.
Honoring the accomplishments of civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr., St. Augustine historian David Nolan says Dr. King’s history in Northeast Florida shined an even greater light on the Civil Rights Act and movement of 1964.
“Always remember somebody who paved the way for things to be the way it is now, that we have a lot more freedom and how we move and how we live, then how it used to be.”
“Things that happened here had a greater effect on the rest of the country than anything else that’s happened here over the century,” Nolan said.
“That’s something we should be proud of and not forget.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s greatest commitment was to racial justice, and with the annual observance of MLK Day, which passes right through downtown Jacksonville, Nolan says it’s by no means just for a day off from work, it’s a day to remember and reflect.
“It’s really a time to remember because it was a very tense situation here,” Nolan said. “There was tension, there was violence.”
Though things are a little bit different this year, Christopher Dickerson says it’s crucial to revisit history.
“The whole concept of why it even took place and that it was here, it’s more important that we hold those things dear to us and connect,” Dickerson said.
As for the 40th annual Martin Luther King Jr. parade, it will begin Monday at 11 a.m.