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At Liberty City's Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade, Reflections On Legacy And Food

Madeline Fox
/
WLRN

For Anthony Burns, coming to this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. parade in Liberty City was a way of coming home. Originally from the Liberty City/Brownsville area, Burns had moved away years before and hadn’t attended the parade in seven years.

This year he brought his 9-year-old daughter, who had been too young to remember her last MLK Day parade in Liberty City.

Of course, every good visit home needs good food – and the vendors along Northwest 54th Street were happy to oblige.

“The food is dope,” Burns says. “[I like] everything – doughnuts, candy apples, chicken, everything.”

Liz Somerset, who has been selling food at the parade for the past four years, says it’s an integral part of her parade experience.

“We come out here, we sell, we have fun watching the parade, and we get a chance to celebrate Martin Luther King,” she said.

Credit Madeline Fox / WLRN
/
WLRN
Liz Somerset operates her food stand at the MLK parade.

The annual parade in Liberty City is the oldest in Miami-Dade County. It started in 1977, nine years before the civil rights leader was honored with a federal holiday.

Making food for the parade is a tradition for many residents of the Liberty City/Brownsville area. But the most important thing is celebrating Dr. King’s legacy, says vendor Barry Wells. He’s been attending the parade for 10 years with his grandson, also named Barry.

“We’ve come a long way for the man that created this day – he was a great man. All he taught on was peace, everybody coming together as one,” Wells says. “No matter what color you are, you’re as one. Because if I bleed, you bleed; what color’s it gonna be?”

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