by Timothy Rutt
Altadenan Gene Stevenson will be among the community grand marshals for Pasadena’s 30th Annual Black History Parade and Festival, to be held Sat., Feb. 18.
Stevenson, former director of the Jackie Robinson Community Center, is one of the founders of the parade. Other community marshals will be co-founders Carolyn Jones and Hamp Morris. Joining them will be Brandilyn Amie, the Pasadena Community Access Corporation parade announcer, and on-site parade announcer Roland Bynum.
Former KTLA anchor Walter Richards and current anchors Michaela Pereira and Gayle Anderson, along with actor Willard Pugh ("The Color Purple," "Air Force One") will be teh celebrity grand marshals.
With the theme “Looking Back and Remembering: We’ve Come A Mighty Long Way,” the parade will celebrate the achievements and contributions of African Americans to American society.
The parade begins at 10 AM at Charles White Park in Altadena, at Ventura Street and Fair Oaks Ave., and travels south on Fair Oaks to Robinson Park, 1081 N. Fair Oaks Ave., where a festival follows until 4 PM. The festival features a youth area, entertainment, vendor booths, food and more.
Pictured: the start of the 2011 Black History Parade on Fair Oaks Avenue, Feb. 19, 2011.
