EATONVILLE, Fla. – No matter which side of Eatonville you enter in from Kennedy Boulevard, you will see signs like this one promoting this weekends MLK Parade.
The community looks forward to the parade, but it has some torn because of a request from the family of the man they are honoring.
Growing up in Eatonville, Andrew Morrison has a great appreciation for the town’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. parade.
“It would just be a really joyous day to celebrate such a figure," the 18-year-old says behind the register at Soul Food Fantasy in Eatonville. "Such a figure in a Black town. Know what I mean?”
This weekend Andrew is expecting to be busy at the restaurant.
“Normally we are always busy on a weekend," Morrison says. "I feel like knowing that most people are coming here for the MLK parade, they are going to flock in here sometimes.”
As the town continues their countdown to MLK Day, the family of the man they are honoring are asking for no celebrations across the country until federal voting rights bills gain traction in Congress.
“It is important to recognize the significance of this moment and how frustrated those of us who have been working diligently on the ground after election after election," LaTosha Brown, the Co-Founder of the Black Voters Matter says. "Here we are a year later and there's still not voting rights.”
It’s a tough call for those who want to honor the man they grew up idolizing.
“I can respect the fact that they don’t want his name kind of parading around knowing that voting is kind of like this way,” Morrison says after sighing.
The parade right now is happening after the pandemic cancelled it a year ago. The hope in Eatonville is like the sign to Soul Food Fantasy says, “Good Food. Good Feelings.”
Nearly 90 participants are registered to be in this weekends parade here in Eatonville. The MLK parade in Orlando was cancelled and reimagined due to COVID Concerns.