Founder’s legacy lives on in 38th annual Black History Parade
In 1980, Helen Shipp of Santa Ana founded and organized Orange County’s first Black History Parade & Cultural Faire.
The woman who has been considered a “mother” to many of her neighbors died Thursday at age 82.
But Shipp’s children along with relatives and friends are making sure the parade and fair, which she started to celebrate the history and accomplishments of African Americans, continues and Shipp’s legacy endures.
Orange County’s 38th Black History Parade & Cultural Faire, the only such event in the county, will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 3 at the West Center Street Promenade in Downtown Anaheim.
The event, which is always held on the first Saturday in February to coincide with Black History Month, has survived financial challenges, a temporary name change and a relocation.
“It’s for the community,” said Dwayne Shipp, 41, the youngest of Helen Shipp’s children. “My mother started it because it was a dream she had. It’s the only thing we have out here for Black History Month.”
According to the United States Census Bureau, African Americans make up 2.1% of Orange County’s nearly 3.2 million people.
The parade includes floats from community groups and the fair offers live entertainment, vendor booths, a history walk, college fair, and health and youth villages.
In its early years, the parade took place in Shipp’s neighborhood, with the procession passing by the home she purchased in 1964 with her husband, Felton. The couple raised their 10 children in the home.
Before organizing the parade, Shipp first had to get a petition signed by 25 residents from the neighborhood, said Darcel Davidson, Helen Shipp’s oldest child who was 25 at the time.
City officials approved the petition and issued a permit for the parade, which included eight entries.
Davidson, who was the parade’s first grand marshal, and all nine siblings have attended the celebration virtually every year.
“She said God gave her (inspiration) to start a parade,” Davidson said. “She was always the kind of person (to) serve the community.”
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times during the 12th annual parade in 1991, Helen Shipp likened the event to an annual reunion of family and friends.
“It seems to be the place where we know once a year many friends will come together in unity,” Shipp said. “It’s like a gathering of old friends, commemorating together and letting the world know blacks have contributed a lot of things to our great (country).”
Through the years, the parade and fair have attracted spectators of all backgrounds and had a variety of celebrities and notables serving as grand marshals.
Among the most prominent was Yolanda King, the oldest child of Martin Luther King Jr., who was grand marshal in 1986.
Other past grand marshals included Rep. Maxine Waters, actor Todd Bridges, comedian Robin Harris, golfer Tiger Woods and Olympic sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner.
This year’s grand marshals are ABC7 news anchors Leslie Sykes and Phillip Palmer.
The parade and fair were held in Santa Ana for the first 30 years and drew more than 20,000 in its heyday.
In 2004, the name was changed to the “Orange County Multicultural Parade and Faire,” which some said detracted from its original purpose.
The original name eventually prevailed.
The nonprofit Orange County Heritage Council was formed in 2008 for the purpose of organizing the event.
In 2009, the parade was canceled due to lack of funding but the cultural fair was still held.
Helen Shipp spent her career working for the Head Start program, which provides early child education to children from low-income families.
For her work with the parade and fair, Shipp was recognized with dozens of commendations and awards from local, county and state governments.
But personal recognition and financial gain was never a motive, Dwayne Shipp said.
“Our mother didn’t create this for us to make money,” he said. “She created it for the community to have something.”
Lou Ponsi is a contributor to Times Community News.
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