Central Brevard Ministerial Coalition MLK Day Peace March in Cocoa
Central Brevard Ministerial Coalition MLK Day Peace March and event in Cocoa in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Braving ominous gray clouds during the 33rd annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peace March in Cocoa on Monday, a few hundred marchers — ranging from children in wagons to senior citizens carrying umbrellas — walked together through a drizzling rain.
“The rain is not going to stop us,” said Melbourne resident Natalie Washington as she walked along the King Street asphalt near Forest Avenue, joined by about 30 fellow Faith Temple Christian Center members.
Organized by the Central Brevard Ministerial Coalition, Pocono’s afternoon MLK peace march began at Provost Park on the southwest corner of State Road 520 and Fiske Boulevard. Participants headed east along the highway across US 1 toward Pocono Village, where they entered Riverfront Park.
Peace march groups included the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, Pocono Masonic Lodge #55, Brevard Democrats, Jack and Jill of America’s Brevard County Chapter, Faith Temple Christian Center’s Kingdom Kids STEM program, and the Coca-Cola Company.
Following the conclusion of the peace march, the line-up of speakers and singers began on the Riverfront Park stage at about 3 p.m. Although National Weather Service radar showed an angry red storm approaching from the southwest over Melbourne and Palm Bay, Cocoa Village Saved from drizzle. The rain intensified towards the end of the programme.
“Thank God for you who braved the rain to stay and be a part of this celebration,” the Rev. David Bryant Sr., pastor of Greater St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, told the audience.
Bryant said, “Because it includes all of us, the wonderful mosaic of this country. That’s what Dr. King was talking about.”
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Elsewhere in Brevard County on Monday, Melbourne recreation officials announced the closure of the Joseph N. The Davis Community Center hosted an afternoon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. American Legion Post 191 on US 1 in Melbourne also held a one-day celebration.
The keynote speaker during Coco’s event was Rockledge City Council Member Shawn Ferguson, senior pastor of Faith Temple Christian Center.
Ferguson said, “As I sat down to prepare this speech, what came to my mind was how our world is full of constant change. We face challenges that are both old and new.”
“When I think about today the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. come to mind. He said, and I quote: ‘We have come a long, long way. But we have a very long way to go. There’s a way to go,'” she said.
Ferguson recalled how King was a Baptist minister and social activist who played a key role in America’s civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968. King was stabbed, violent threats were made, and his home was bombed. And according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, he was arrested 29 times.
Ferguson asked the crowd to repeatedly repeat the phrase, “It starts with me,” which he said was a call to action to serve others. He also urged the audience to achieve excellence.
Ferguson said, “By recognizing our individual impact, we unlock the potential for collective change. Consider the analogy: how we can all make a difference, like waves, beyond our immediate surroundings.”
“Together, our collective efforts create a wave of positive change that impacts the lives of those around us and shapes the community we want to be,” he said.
rick neal is a space reporter at Florida Today (for more of his stories, Click here.) Contact Neil at 321-242-3638 or [email protected], twitter/x: @RickNeale1
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