Strolling through the crowd, witnessing hundreds of individuals gathered together—some beaming with smiles so big they nearly slice their cheeks open, while others wipe away tears of joy—you’ll encounter an exhilarating and indescribable sensation. Participating in the MLK Parade in St. Pete ignites a unique form of confidence.
The city of St. Pete works overtime to keep the results of King’s efforts alive. January 20, 2025 marked the 38th anniversary of the St. Pete community coming together to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. at the MLK Parade, and the Shorecrest community hopes to uphold that legacy through their involvement.
Members of the Shorecrest community are encouraged to make an appearance at the event.
Shroecrest holds a pop-up tent on the corner of 1st Ave. S and 5th Street to view the parade, and stay afterward to put their two cents in for the clean-up. In the past, up to 40 community members have volunteered.
Junior Mila Bianco was one of those volunteers. She has attended the parade since she was in Lower School and will continue to do so. She hopes that others will continue to do so as well.
She said, “[The parade] is a big part of who I am and what he fought for…there’s never too many people to support that.”
Since moving to St. Pete, Director of Diversity & Inclusion Roderick Fludd has attended the parade for eight consecutive years. He’s participated in Shorecrest’s annual cleanup and hopes to continue providing the community with the opportunity to honor King’s legacy.
“It was really rewarding for me the first time [that I went]. I said, ‘You know what, we’re going to clean up the first five blocks of the parade,’ and [so many] people who came out put on gloves, grabbed the garbage bag, and did it after the parade was over,” Fludd said. “And it wasn’t for recognition. It was like, ‘this is the right thing to do,’ and having people there just doing the right thing felt really good.”
Like Fludd, eighth-grade Social Studies Teacher Steve Dionne has been educating students about King’s journey and legacy for over 20 years.
Dionne’s face lit up as he said, “I [believe] there’s still a battle for justice, equality, and civil rights going on in the country. I think [many] schools have educational programs that go over the Civil Rights Movement and talk about all the actions MLK was responsible for, so hopefully it is motivating children to follow in his footsteps.”
