Neighborhood News: Bronzeville’s 94th Bud Billiken Parade celebrates Back to School and more!
Held annually since 1929 on the second Saturday in August, Bronzeville’s Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic(also known as The Bud Billiken Day Parade) is the largest African-American parade in the United States.
Its focus is solidly on celebrating youth, education and African-American life, according to Wikipedia sources.
What’s a Billiken?
In traditional Chinese mythology, a billiken is a guardian angel, a sort of patron saint of children.
Bud Billiken Begins
‘Bud Billiken,’ according to Brittanica.com, is a fictional character created in 1923 by Robert Sengstacke Abbott, the founder and publisher of the Chicago Defender. While dining at a Chinese restaurant he noticed a ‘Billiken,’ a “smiling, rotund, elfin creature,” popular in the early 1900s, which became the mascot for the Bud Billiken Cluband created the fictional character of Bud Billiken, which he featured in a youth advice column in the Defender. Along with the advice column, he created the Bud Billiken Club… sort of a youth social media forum for the mid-20th century.
Bud Billiken Clubs Go National
The “Rules of the Bud Billiken Club” guided youth to take pride in their race and to strive towards middle-class respectability, according to the Club’s Wikipedia page. It was also meant as a way to give underprivileged children a creative outlet and a chance to shine. Over the years, Bud Billiken became the mascot not only for the children’s page, but for the whole newspaper. Abbott organized dozens of Bud Billiken Clubs nationwide for children who pledged to read the Defender. Today, the Club supports African–American youth with financial and academic help. The Club also organizes, in conjunction with Chicago Defender Charities, school supply giveaways, reduced rates on computers and Internet service, and prom dress donations. They also focus on creating safe communities through conflict resolution and promoting education.
David Kellum, co-founder of the Bud Billiken Club and longtime parade coordinator, suggested the parade as a celebration of African-American life.
According to Wikipedia sources,during the early 1930s, names of international youth were listed in the “Bud Billiken” section of the newspaper every week. Between 1930–34, approximately 10,000 names appeared and were archived in the Carter G. Woodson Regional Library of the Chicago Public Library.
The Bud Billiken Day Parade
Since 1929, the parade has featured celebrities, politicians, businessmen, civic organizations and youth. They’ve hosted several notable figures including Oprah Winfrey, President Harry Truman, Duke Ellington, and President Obama (then Senator). The parade features contests like ‘Best Float’ and ‘Best Dance Team,’ showcasing their unique talents, according to its website. At the close of the parade, all attendees are welcome to join in the post-parade festivities in Washington Park.
The 2023 Parade- August 12, 2023
The two-mile, 94th Annual Parade is scheduled to kick-off at 10:00 a.m. at the intersection of King Drive and Oakwood Boulevard. The parade route heads south down King Drive and ends at Garfield Blvd./Elsworth Dr. & 55th Street, near Washington Park, where community organizations, businesses and other agencies host a Back-to School Fair. ABC-7 Chicago is televising the parade. For more information, click here.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
