Marilyn Griffin traveled just one block from her Bronzeville home Saturday morning, as she does most years, to hand out school supplies for kids and join thousands gathered along Martin Luther King Drive on the South Side for an August ritual in the Black community: the annual Bud Billiken Parade.

Griffin says she’s glad the parade has lived on for 96 years.

“It speaks to the longevity of the African American family and the support systems that the communities provide for these families,” Griffin said. “As a resident of Bronzeville, it just really warms my heart to be here to watch this year after year.”

The parade is considered the largest of its kind in the U.S. and marks the start of the school year.

As local high school bands, drill and dance teams marched down King Drive in the st

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