Bud Billiken Parade

I don't think anyone who participated in the Bud Billiken Parade can say they weren't affected by the event. This major African-American event is one of the largest parades in the nation.

There were hundreds of thousands of spectators, many of them school children, lining both sides of Martin Luther King Dr. The feeling was intense. Around 50 Kerry Volunteers marched down the street, handing out both stickers and Kerry fans.

Among us, was State Director Avis LaVelle together with campaign officials Bill Cunningham and Rob Moon. They helped us so much, first in getting a spot for the volunteers to march (right behind Obama, thank you) and then in organizing both the people and materials.

We marched from 35th St. to the parade's end in Washington Park. All the way, the crowd chanted with determined hands in the air, "no more Bush" and "Kerry, Kerry". It truly was a memorable event -- a wonderful example of official campaign people working together with the Kerry volunteers.