A day of hope and reflection for Dr. King

The city has come a long way, some say, but the struggle isn't over. Fifteen years ago, no street bore his name and the holiday wasn't acknowledged.

By MEGAN SCOTT
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 16, 2003

TARPON SPRINGS -- The Rev. Milton Smith remembers having to go in the back door at the doctor's office where the sign read "Colored Entrance."

The Tarpon Springs native recalls sitting in the back of the waiting room in wooden chairs, while the white patients sat up front in the comfortable cushioned seats.

"It's just things like that I remember as a child," said Smith, 43, the pastor of Mount Hermon Missionary Baptist Church in Tarpon Springs. "Although you always sat in the same waiting room, you wouldn't dare go on the other side."

Tarpon Springs has come a long way, Smith said.

Fifteen years ago, Smith and other local ministers were fighting the city to get a street named after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The holiday wasn't acknowledged, and there was no celebration.

But even as Tarpon Springs gears up for its 11th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration on Saturday, Smith says the struggle is not over.

"Here in Florida we still look at the struggle has not ended," said Smith, a lieutenant with the Palm Harbor Fire Department. "We still look at the things we need to be doing to make sure that we keep Dr. King's dream alive."

Smith has organized the King holiday celebration since its inception. The festivities kick off at noon Saturday with a vendor fair in Dorsett Park, followed by a parade at 2 p.m. On Sunday, there will be a gospel concert featuring a community choir directed by recording artist, composer, and author Maurice James Jackson.

"I think we have come a long way in 11 years," said Smith, president of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation of Tarpon Springs. "We've gotten the city to recognize us as an organization, a foundation. We're on the city's list as a co-sponsor of the event."

Glenn Davis, 48, the first black commissioner in Tarpon Springs, was one of the leaders who fought for Tarpon Springs to recognize the holiday. The city began observing the King holiday in 1996. The first national celebration took place in 1986.

But Davis, who grew up in Tarpon Springs, professes his disappointment in the way the city treats the day. While government offices are closed, for most employees in Tarpon Springs and around Pinellas County, it's business as usual.

"It saddens me that it's only a black holiday," Davis said. "I think that it should be a holiday up there with Labor Day, Memorial Day, even the Fourth of July. The things that Dr. King did might have saved this country."

Davis remembers going to the local drugstore and having to stand at the lunch counter to eat his sandwich, while the white patrons sat on the stools. He had to watch movies from the balcony at the theater downtown. He watched King preach on television.

For him, the holiday is more than just watching floats and high school bands. It's a time to reflect.

"I think one of the things is it troubles me especially with African-Americans, we don't take this day seriously," Davis said. "One of the things that we need to do is take the time to sit down and reflect on his life with our children. For a lot of kids, it's just a name."

City Commissioner David Archie, 49, another Tarpon Springs native, agrees. He said he uses the holiday as a day of reflection and that others need to do the same. Parents need to teach their children about King and what he stood for, he said. They also need to emphasize more than just the civil rights leader's accomplishments.

"There's a number of people who also gave their life, time to ensure there would be more equality," said Archie, executive director of Citizens Alliance for Progress in Tarpon Springs. "Youth need to learn about the life of Dr. King and others that have gone on before them."

-- Megan Scott can be reached at (727)445-4183 or mscott@sptimes.co .

Events marking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Tarpon Springs' Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade begins at 2 p.m. Saturday at the corner of Ring and Tarpon avenues. The route goes west on Tarpon Avenue, south on Pinellas Avenue, east on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and then south to Dorsett Park. At 5:30 p.m. Sunday, there will be a gospel concert at Mount Hermon Missionary Baptist Church, 400 S Levis Ave. For information, call (727) 937-7015.

The Friends of Ridgecrest celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a candlelight vigil, breakfast and march. There is a vigil at 7 p.m. Sunday on the steps of the Ridgecrest YMCA, 1801 119th St. N, Largo. The King Day breakfast at 8 a.m. Monday is at Ridgecrest Elementary School, 1901 119th St. N: adults $5, children $3; no reservations are required. The march will start at 10:15 a.m. and will return to the YMCA at 11 a.m. for food and fun. For information, call the YMCA at (727) 559-0500.

The Clearwater chapter of the NAACP hosts its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast, march and civil rights rally starting at 8 a.m. Monday. The $4 breakfast will be at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, 1201 Douglas Ave., Clearwater. The march will start after breakfast at the King Center and will end in Coachman Park with a rally. Herbert Crump, a pastor from South Carolina, is the featured speaker for the Coachman Park rally.

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