Miriam Brown stood at the corner of East University Avenue and Northeast Third Street leading the pack of marchers growing behind her.
Dressed in a pink Alpha Kappa Alpha shirt, she and her surrounding sorority sisters made up just a few of the more than 1,000 people participating in the Gainesville Annual Commemorative March in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday afternoon.
“We’re bringing awareness,” said Brown, a 19-year-old UF health education and behavior sophomore. “It’s not just a day off of school.”
At 1 p.m., a mixed crowd of community members, from multicultural fraternities to the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida, took up the blocked-off East University Avenue to march to the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center off of Waldo Road.
Clifford Peppers manned the intersection, blowing a whistle and directing the crowd to keep it organized.
“It’s a great thing we’re doing,” said Peppers, who has worked with the MLK commission for seven years.
Resident Florida Bridgewater-Alford said the march has become a family tradition. Her children, ages 7 and 11, have been participating since they were in strollers.
“There’s always hundreds (of people),” she said. “The dream is still alive, and the fight for equality is not over.”
27-year-old Ushie Alungbe, a barber and dog breeder, carries his nephew, Kani Strickland, 3, on his shoulders as they take part in the King Celebration Annual Commemorative March held Monday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Earlier in the day, dozens of students got their hands dirty during the UF Center for Leadership and Service’s MLK Day of Service, meeting at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium before breaking off into groups to volunteer at various community organizations.
Lisa Hill, a UF CLS graduate assistant, said the MLK Day of Service projects draw in people from the community, so they have more participation than other activities on campus.
The center’s Day of Service partnered with various organizations throughout the Gainesville community, including The Boys and Girls Club and Keep Alachua County Beautiful.
The goal of Service Day is to encourage participants to continue service throughout the year and not just the three days the center sponsors, Hill said.
Hill said that volunteering is a great way to recognize the issues that plague the Gainesville community, and it is an opportunity to give back and honor the legacy of King.
“It’s a great opportunity for people to come together from different areas and work, as well as for students to get outside the campus bubble,” she said.
Dominique Levert, a UF psychology senior, spent the afternoon cleaning the street by Second Avenue with Keep Alachua County Beautiful. She said the day of service was a great way to spend the day off from school and bond with her service fraternity, Delta Nu Zeta.
“I could be at the library, but I could be helping out also,” Levert, 21, said.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 1/20/2015 under the headline “Remembering an icon"]
Coral MacDonald, a 50-year-old gardener, marches with his sign held high during the King Celebration Annual Commemorative March on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A few steps ahead of him is Christine Wilson, a 66-year-old retired children's librarian, carrying a flag representing Veterans For Peace.
