BRONZEVILLE — Chicago poet J. Ivy remembers “the joy, the peace and the fun” watching dancers make their way down Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive during the Bud Billiken Parade as a kid.
“It felt so regal. It felt magical. It felt like I was watching the kingdom marching,” Ivy said.
Now 47, the two-time Grammy-award-winning poet will be the grand marshal at the 94th annual parade.
The parade will be 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 12, kicking off at 35th Street in Bronzeville and making its way down King Drive before ending at Washington Park on 55th Street for a picnic and festival.
“It’s surreal for me to go from that moment to now,” Ivy said. It serves as a reminder “that this is for the kids, this is for the children that are going back to school, pursuing their dreams, building.”
The parade kicks off back-to-school season and is the longest-running, largest African-American parade in the United States. It is a “celebration for education and for those next levels of success,” Ivy said.
“When I think of thought leaders who are continuing to push the conversation forward in progressive ways in relation to education and our city, I cannot think of anyone as impactful as J. Ivy,” said Myiti Sengstacke-Rice, president and CEO of the Chicago Defender Charities and Bud Billiken Parade chair.
This year’s theme is “Parading in Peace Block by Block,” which Ivy said should prompt reflection.
“You have to ask why peace is needed,” Ivy said. “Peace is needed because there’s so much excellence, there’s so much genius, there’s so much beauty and power, and in our city that beauty and genius and power and ideas will impact the entire world. … So we use peace to protect, protect our youth so they can grow and flourish and be the great leaders that Chicago tends to be in the world.
“We don’t want any of that greatness to be cut short.”
The annual parade dates back to 1929. It was started by Robert Sengstacke Abbott, the founding editor of the Chicago Defender, one of the nation’s most influential Black weekly newspapers.
The parade continues to embrace Black influence, culture, dance and music during summertime in the city. Nearly two dozen performing art teams will dance or march the roughly 2-mile route.
“Every year we go through, you know, the gray skies and cold nights and when the sun comes out, we know how to get out and celebrate. And I think our gratitude really, really shines through.” Ivy said.
“I want everybody to come out. I want the whole world to feel the peace that will reverberate through the city that day. I want that peace to carry on every single day following that. I want everybody just to show up and bring all the love and smiles you can.”
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