Chilly weather does not deter MLK marchers

More than 70 groups participated in Ocala’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day event.


Members of the United Holiness Church of Christ Deliverance Center march together during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day March on East Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala, Fla. on Monday, January 20, 2025. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

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Posted January 20, 2025 | By Andy Fillmore / Photos by Bruce Ackerman
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Latrice Sweet was one of hundreds of marchers who braved near freezing temperatures early Jan. 20 to join the 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. Day March in Ocala.

Sweet, who last year wore a mask and clothing to represent the slain civil rights leader, paid tribute to him this year by portraying his wife. Sweet, accompanied by family members, carried a sign that read, “I’m Corretta King and I’m so proud of my husband, Martin Luther King Jr.”

The march, organized locally by the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Commission, honors the non-violence advocate who was assassinated in 1968 at the age of 39. The theme for this year’s march was “Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice and Democracy in the Spirit of Nonviolence 365,” according to Kelvin Richardson, a member of the commission. Richardson said 73 groups were registered for the event.

The commission annually oversees several ceremonies honoring King in the days leading up to the march, which travels from the downtown square to the E.D. Croskey Recreation Center and Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Complex on the third Monday of January each year.

Ocala Mayor Ben Marciano was on hand as groups staged for the march before 9 a.m. on Monday morning. He said it was an “important day” to honor a “great man.”

Ramah Missionary Baptist Church Youth Director Natasha Sanford was joined by about 25 church members. Sanford said it is important to “expose youth” to the history and teachings of King, who “died for us and for equality.”

Rev. Eric Cummings, pastor of New Zion MBC, which had a group in the march, felt it was a near record turnout for the event.

Ocala City Councilman Ire Bethea, who serves with the commemorative commission, also commented on the strong turnout, in spite of 36-degree temperatures just before 9 a.m.

The College of Central Florida entered a large contingent of marchers, including 29 members of the men’s baseball team, according to participant Bruno Schafer, and 25 members of the women’s softball team, according to team member Amy Crosby. John Horner, with Coke Florida’s Ocala Territory, headed up a group of about 25 marchers and the Marion Education Association and UAW Local 1821 also had groups in the event.

Jacques Raphael held one side of a large banner for Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity/Epsilon Pi Lambda of Ocala and said it was a “great honor” to represent APA, which was the fraternity of Dr. King. In 1956, King was presented the group’s Alpha Award of Honor for “Christian leadership in the cause of first-class citizenship for all mankind,” according to kinginstitute.stanford.edu/alpha-phi-alpha-fraternity

The Vanguard High School Elite Knights and Oakcrest Elementary School entered youth dance groups and the Shiloh Drum Corps kept up a steady beat with drums and cymbals.

The Rev. Winston Dawson stood with a group of members from Antioch MBC of Sparr, while
the Rev. Floyd Narcisse and his wife Terseca, of Greater St. Joesph African Methodist Episcopal Church, also in Sparr, carried a church banner accompanied by members Yvette Anderson and Lorna King, who was assisted in her wheelchair by Kontie Anderson. Malcolm Little, 10, cheerfully helped carry a church banner as the marchers moved out.

Some of the groups represented in the march included East Lake First Baptist Church, Mt. Zion AME Church, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Ocala Tree of Life Sanctuary, Little Women Juniorettes of Ocala, Greater Hopewell MBC, Kut Different Inc., United Holiness Church of Christ-Deliverance Center and Youth In Action Group, Tabernacle of Deliverance Outreach Ministries of Ocala, New Covenant MBC, New Shady Grove MBC, New St. Mary Baptist Church, Little Chapel Community Church of Santos, Freewill Spirit Church of God in Church, Grace Episcopal Church and Immerse Church.

Geneva Leahman and her son, Marlon Leahman Jr.,14, stood with the Mt. Cavalry MBC Church group. As he prepared to march, Marlon jotted down why he participated in the march.

“I’m marching because I want to finish what he started,” the teenager wrote.

Prior to the march on Monday, the commission also hosted a food drive, prayer breakfast, wreath laying, youth day and ecumenical services.

To learn more, find the commission at fb.com/profile.php?id=100081906943501

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