Riverside’s 41st Black History Parade Marks Historical Milestone with Successful Turnout

This year’s theme was “It Takes a Village. Let’s Vote” to commemorate the 150^th Anniversary of the Black People’s Right to Vote

Write-up by Naomi K. Bonman

RIVERSIDE, CA— The sun was shining and the community came out to enjoy the sunshine at the 41^st Annual Riverside Black History Parade on Saturday, February 8 held in Downtown Riverside. Many parade goers, as well as the vendors, applauded this year’s parade success. Several vendors sold out of food at the expo.

Tommy the Clown made his return in the parade and expo as well as several local drill teams. However, there was a newcomer to the parade: Compton High School’s drum squad made a highlight to the parade. There was a total of over 70 entries in this year’s parade.

This year’s grand marshal was Riverside’s NAACP Chapter’s president, Regina Patton Stell, which was perfect in complimenting the theme for the parade, which was “It Takes a Village. Let’s Vote”. The 15th Amendment, stating that the right to vote could not be denied based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” was ratified Feb. 3, 1870.

Planning for the 42^nd Annual Riverside Black History Parade is already in motion. If you would like to be involved and volunteer, please visit www.adcrfoundation.org.

Author: Naomi K. Bonman

Naomi K. Bonman is a Digital Content Curator, Journalist, Marketing Manager, and Editor. She is the editor of the westside Story Newspaper. She is also the Founder and CEO of Awakened Lounge (www.theawakenedlounge.com)