photo essay: mlk day parade in jacksonville, florida

Photographer Toni Smailagic attended the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Jacksonville, Florida,  and tells us: “The event happened in downtown Jacksonville and the parade went on for about 4 hours and had a few thousand people in attendance. The sense of unity was incredible. It’s VERY rare (after being raised in Jacksonville and going to a ton of events) that an event can actually happen and have this much support. It was a collective effort and as I went through the crowds – you commonly overheard conversations on local elections and the right to vote. Jacksonville is where the Jordan Davis shooting happened – so there were quite a few people there in remembrance of him as well. I mainly focused on the children – – as cliche as it sounds , they are the future backbone of the US – and having them even at a parade shows the people molding their minds now are taking a step in the right direction.” 

By Toni Smailagic, AFROPUNK Contributor