Today is the 25th annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday in the USA. In Miami, official ambivalence and budget cuts have cancelled any big downtown ceremonies. Instead, the parade takes place in the African-American neighbourhood called Liberty City. We went expecting to experience stirring speeches and a procession of heartfelt memorials to the fallen civil rights leader.
The first bad omen was that heavy rains began just as the parade started. Then the disappointment continued as there was almost no mention by name, photo, speech, nor prayer for the man being commemorated! Instead, it was an unfocused sequence of police vehicles, fire rescue trucks, high school bands, Harley-Davidson noise makers, and guys selling overpriced toys to overbored kids. Oh, and dozens of politicians from near and far trying to decide whether to be out in the rain or not.
I guess the thought is what counts, but the tribute could be more obvious. For instance, every Miami city bus honours the legendary Rosa Parks with a window tribute ---- at the front of the bus!
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