CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is the grand marshal of this year's Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic.
Bud Billiken is the nation's oldest
African-American parade.
The event is marking its 82nd year. The two-mile
parade route winds down Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on the city's South Side.
Organizers expect more than 75,000 participants,
1.5 million spectators and millions more to watch a live broadcast at home.
The parade is always held on the second Saturday in
August.
Bud Billiken was founded by Robert S. Abbott,
founder of the Chicago Defender newspaper, to organize the youth who sold the
paper.
Recent grand marshals have included then-U.S.
Senator Barack Obama and Senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett.
Copyright
2011 The Associated Press.
