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The Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic (also known as The Bud Billiken Day Parade) is an annual parade in Chicago, Illinois, United States and the oldest and largest African American parade in the United States. Since 1929, it has always been held on the second Saturday in August.〔Jerald Walker, "Dreams From My Father", ''Mother Jones'', January/February 2009, p. 53.〕〔 The idea for the parade came from Robert S. Abbott, the founder of the ''Chicago Defender''. It is now the second largest annual parade in the United States. The focus of the parade is on educating Chicago's youth. The parade features celebrities, politicians, businessmen, civic organizations and youth. It begins in the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago's south side and ends in Washington Park. The parade has been televised on WGN-TV (1978–2012), WLS-TV (1984–present) and WCIU-TV (2012–2014).〔(WGN-TV drops Bud Billiken parade )〕 National and international celebrities have attended and some have served as the parade's Grand Marshal. The 86th Annual Parade took place on August 8, 2015, and was televised on WLS-TV. In 2016, the second Saturday in August falls on August 13, 2016. ==History== Bud Billiken is a fictional character created in 1923 by Abbott, who had been pondering the possibility of adding a youth section to the newspaper. While dining at a Chinese restaurant he noticed a Billiken. Some of the early Billiken columns were written by Willard Motley, who would later become a prominent black novelist. During the early 1930s, names of international youth appeared 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. During the Great Depression, the Bud Billiken character served as a symbol of pride, happiness and hope for black residents. The character gained prominence in a comic strip and the ''Chicago Defender'' newspaper.〔 Although the character was created in 1923, the parade did not begin until David Kellum initiated it in 1929 as a celebration of the "unity in diversity for the children of Chicago". It has since grown to become a locally televised event—the second largest parade in the nation.〔 The parade, which began on August 11, 1929, now includes politicians, beauty queens, celebrities, musical performers, and dozens of marching, tumbling and dancing groups.〔 It has grown from a locally sponsored event to one with major corporate presence and is seen as a signal of the impending end of summer and beginning of the new school year.〔 As such the parade sponsors raise money for college scholarships for local youth.〔 The parade route has changed over the years. The original route was along Michigan Avenue beginning at 31st Street, then turned east into Washington Park. Concern for north-south traffic flow caused rerouting the parade route to South Parkway (now named Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive), which runs directly into the park. At various times, street repairs have necessitated use of the Michigan route, but the current route is now the King Drive route.〔 Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll of ''Amos 'n' Andy'' fame were the first guests of honor in the original parade. Robert S. Abbott led the first parade in his Rolls Royce. Dr. Marjorie Stewart Joyner, president of the Chicago Defender Charities, Inc., organized the parade for over 50 years. Numerous high-profile celebrities and dignitaries have attended the parade over the years, including U.S. President Harry S. Truman, Michael Jordan, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Duke Ellington, Adelaide Hall,〔The 1933 Chicago World's Fair – Century of Progress, by Cheryl Ganz, published by University of Illinois Press, (6 January 2012) ISBN 0252078527. Adelaide Hall, Cab Calloway and Earl Hines at the Bud Billiken parade and Picnic reference on page 115: https://books.google.com/books?id=GYXD8t4DDoIC&pg=PT163&dq=adelaide+hall+chicago&hl=en&sa=X&ei=tZdpU5vLI8a_ObH0gcgM&ved=0CGAQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=adelaide%20hall%20chicago&f=false 〕 Oprah Winfrey, Diana Ross, Lena Horne, Ethel Waters, Cab Calloway, Paul Robeson and Billie Holiday.〔〔 Truman rode alongside John H. Sengstacke, who was Abbott's nephew and took over the ''Chicago Defender'' in 1948, and Mayor Richard J. Daley in the 1956 Parade. Recent parades have featured popular musical acts as concert performers at the post-parade picnic. In 2006, approximately 26 million people saw the parade in person or on television,〔 including 25 million television viewers and 1.2 million attendees. The 2006 parade also included 74,000 participants and 160 floats and vehicles.〔 The 2008 parade was dedicated to actor and comedian Bernie Mac (star of ''The Bernie Mac Show''), a native of Chicago, who died an hour before the start of the parade. In 1993, a request to participate in the parade from a black LGBT group was declined by the organizers. Following legal action and the involvement of Lambda Legal, the Ad Hoc Committee of Proud Black Lesbians and Gays was allowed to participate in the parade. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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