One Woman Reflects on Breaking Barriers Alicia Shephard recalls becoming one of the first Black winners of the Florida Strawberry Festival Baby Parade and how those moments of visibility helped shape her faith, confidence and lifelong commitment to community.
Long before she became a minister’s wife, school bus driver, and Christian author, Alicia Shephard was a toddler crossing a stage in lace socks and a handmade gown, unaware she was making local history.
In the early 1970s, during a time of racial transition across the South, Shephard, then Alicia Burch, became the first Black child to win the baby contest at the Florida Strawberry Festival. She went on to win three consecutive years, from the ages of 2 to 4…