BY LOUIS C. WARD, TIMES CONTRIBUTING WRITER
LEESBURG – Fred and Dantrell Griffin’s, portrayals of Dr. Martin and Coretta King, Jr. for the 2025 annual Dr. M. L. King, Jr. Parade in Leesburg, Florida, were left high and dry sitting on a golf cart at the end of the historic parade honoring the legacy and contributions of the civil rights leader, on Saturday, January 18, 2025.
It’s the first time in the 20-plus years of the parade march entertaining onlookers lined up on both sides of Main Street in downtown Leesburg, that Martin and Coretta were almost left behind, even though the Griffin’s would close out the parade arriving in a Bucket Truck Cherry Picker. The glitch was a miscommunication concerning where the fire truck was supposed to pick up the Griffins.
“We were good with walking in the parade,” said Fred Griffin. “It was more personal and intimate. The people liked it. They thought it was a change from being driven in the fire truck.”
Parade onlookers didn’t recognize the glitch. They probably thought it was a different way of presenting Dr. Martin and Coretta King, Jr. for 2025.
Despite the mishap, the 2025 MLK Parade March went on with more than 60 entries including sororities, fraternities, churches, Leesburg High School band, Twirlers and Drum clubs, businesses, motorcycles clubs, vintage cars, Hakem Temple No. 55, Democratic Clubs, Mayors of Leesburg and Eustis, African American Heritage Clubs, and more.
More people attended the parade than in previous years, and there was more diversity among parade participants.
