BY MIRANDA BORCHARDT
NNB Reporter
DOWNTOWN — An estimated crowd of 3,000 people filled the streets of downtown St. Petersburg to take in the 31st annual Drum Major for Justice National Parade celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Monday, Jan. 18.
This St. Petersburg tradition is the nation’s longest running Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade with the inaugural event being held on Jan. 20, 1986.
Student Matthew Vorra, 15, and friends spent their school day off traveling from Seffner to experience the event but mostly to celebrate, remember and honor the legacy of the civil rights leader.
King was “a man who fought for what he believed in,” said Vorra.
The parade showcased local school marching bands, dance troupes and floats featuring community groups and local businesses who embraced the spectators with smiles, waves and by throwing beads to the crowd. There were even a few local celebrities who joined the two mile route from Tropicana field down to Vinoy Park including Mayor Rick Kriseman and former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.
Yolanda Fernandez, St. Petersburg police spokeswoman, said attendance was average. Some attendees may have been deterred by the lower than normal temperatures for the day.
While the crowd was all smiles some were pensive remembering the times of struggle while embracing their freedoms of today. Charles Payne, 80, of St. Petersburg, has attended for about 20 years.
“Martin Luther King (Jr.) stood for nonviolence,” he said. “It is good to see so many people recognize (that).”