Chicago, IL – The South Side celebrated the last days of summer at the 96th Bud Billiken parade on Saturday, August 9. The Bud Billiken is the largest African American parade in the country. Young people received school supplies while dancers and musicians showed off their skills. Some organizations also raised political demands such as community control of police, fully funded public services, and progressive taxation.

200 school staff, students and parents marched with the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). They wore shirts that read “Fully fund schools, tax the rich” and passed out school supplies.

The CTU contingent was led by their president, Stacy Davis Gates, who was an honorary marshal in the parade. As they saw her pass, some community members shouted, “We’re with you, Stacy!” and “Keep up the fight!”

“Being out here with the people lets you know you're on the right path,” Davis Gates said after the parade.

“It's the longest running Black parade in the world,” said Patricia Williams, co-chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR). “With all that history we had to be out here. And people said, ‘We love what you're doing’ and ‘Keep up the good work.’ A lot of people wanted to volunteer.”

Williams and other CAARPR members were canvassing for the Community Power Over Policing (CPOP) referendum, which would strengthen the police accountability legislation won by the movement in 2021. They also gathered petitions demanding that Governor JB Pritzker sign clemency petitions for survivors of police torture.

“We ought to be able to get this referendum passed with all the support people showed today,” Williams said.

As parents, youth and teachers prepare for the beginning of the school year, organizers continue to build the fight for a better future.

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