“Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope” is a line from Martin Luther King Jr.’s famed “I Have a Dream” speech. This quote was also featured on the float honoring Dr. King at the 129th Rose Parade. AHF’s float, themed “Keeping the Promise,” represented an enduring commitment to the public to uphold shared values and continue the fight for justice, while also celebrating AHF’s 30th anniversary.
The float showcased a floral replication of Lei Yixin’s “Stone of Hope” granite statue of Dr. King, as well as the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which Dr. King and other civil rights icons marched across in 1965 to protest racist policing.
Also featured on the float was Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer, a young woman who was fatally struck by a white supremacist while protesting in Charlottesville, Virginia. The fact that these tragedies occurred nearly 50 years apart served as an unfortunate reminder of the continued need to keep marching forward.
While the year 2025 has been marred by political and civil unrest and reversals of human rights, the new year also brings renewed strength and hope. We march forward in the spirit of Dr. King to fight racism, inequality, homophobia, sexism, homelessness, poverty, and injustice.
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