Black History Parade Heads To Anaheim This Weekend

ANAHEIM, CA — The Orange County Black History Parade will make its return to Anaheim this Saturday after the pandemic forced organizers to cancel last year's event.

The parade is now in its 42nd year and will kick off Black History Month in Orange County. The event will be from 9 a.m. to noon and take off from the intersection of Anaheim Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue, the Orange County Heritage Council, the parade's organizer, said.

The parade culminates in the Unity Festival, a fair celebrating Black culture, at Anaheim's Center Street Promenade from noon to 5 p.m., organizers said.

"This year's theme is 'Our Heritage: Reflecting, Advancing, Uniting,'" Dwayne Shipp, president of the heritage council, said in a statement. "We are here to give back to the community and to continue the legacy established by my mother, Helen M. Shipp [who founded the council]."

Kenny Lattimore, a Grammy-nominated musician, will serve as the parade's grand marshall, the heritage council said.

"I am truly honored to be the grand marshal for this year's 42nd OC Black History Parade," Lattimore said in a statement. "It is with pride that I stand with our community acknowledge the contributions and strides that we have made through the years."

For more information about the Black History Parade and Unity Festival, visit the Orange County Heritage Council website.