san antony – Sammy Sana stood outside his stores on Pecan Valley Drive and Martin Luther King Drive Monday morning as hundreds of thousands of marchers streamed past for the first time in three years.
He’s been at the place for five or six years now, but it’s weird not being in the parade in 2021 and 2022, and he’s excited to see it again.
“It’s a mix of people, and I’m glad to see that dream is still alive,” Sana said.
It’s a dream he appreciates.
“Mr. Kings fight for something. It’s not about parades. It’s not that, you know? But there’s a philosophy behind it. Equality. You can do anything,” he said.
Sana said there were “a lot” of walkers coming in to use the restroom or get a drink. However, there was no traffic for much of the morning as the streets around the store were blocked for the march.
Still, despite the overall slowdown in business, he doesn’t mind.
“We’re in business year-round. So one day, no, it’s not a big deal,” he said.
On the other side of I-10, hungry walkers meant booming business for Skinny Black BBQ, and a chance for businesses to spread the word about their cause.
The company is owned by the family of Marquise Jones, a 23-year-old black man who was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer in 2014.
“We have an organization called the Marquise Jones Foundation that my sister just started, and then his dad opened his restaurant like four years ago,” said Jones’ mother, Cheryl Jones, who and other family members wear the foundation’s Named bright red shirt.
Like Sana, the family is excited to see March back.
“When the pandemic hit, everyone was doing their own thing. But with the march, it brought all the communities together, everyone for the same purpose,” said Debbie Bush.
Also on KSAT.com:
Copyright KSAT 2023 – All Rights Reserved.
