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On Eve Of History, MLK Parade All The Sweeter

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 19, 2009

TAMPA - Arthur Chester was in a good place, in more ways than one.

Sitting along the north side of the street, and wearing a new shirt picturing Barack Obama and his family, Chester, 46, waited for the start of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade in College Hill.

He also was at a momentous spot in history.

The parade came at a perfect time – the eve of the inauguration of the nation's first black president.

The significance wasn't lost on Chester.

"I never thought I'd ever see it," he said. "This is a dream. This is a dream that is happening for all the right reasons."

With a blare of sirens and the throbbing beat of drums echoing along the street, the 20th annual parade began promptly at noon today. All along the route, people stood, in some places seven or eight deep, cheering every float, every marching band and every elected official.

Chester's aunt, 71-year-old Josephine Williams, remembered the days in Tampa when there was no equality.

"It means a great deal to me," she said of the parade and inauguration. "It means we have come a long way. I never dreamed I would see this day, but I was always hoping."

Anita Sturks, 66, leaned into the back of a van and pulled out handfuls of colorful beads in the staging area before the start of the parade. She was loading up to walk behind the First Baptist Church of College Hill float.

She wore an Obama cap.

"Everyone's excited," she said. "Everyone has come together."

Tens of thousands of people lined both sides of the road, hollering for beads and candy. Some were there just to take in the spectacle of a big parade; others to revel in the historic moment.

Hillsborough County sheriff's Maj. Louis Hollinshead, a lifelong Tampa resident, saw the discrimination of the 1950s and '60s firsthand.

"This parade, coupled with the inauguration, is certainly historical," he said. The timing of the two "has touched a lot of people. It shows the cohesiveness of our community and that we still are moving forward. I'm extremely proud."

He recalled his parents taking him downtown as a child and seeing separate water fountains and restrooms for whites and blacks.

Seeing the city and nation progress from those days gives him a sense of satisfaction.

"Hopefully," he said, "this is just the beginning."

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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