Black History Month kicked off in downtown Anaheim Saturday with the 46th Annual Black History Parade and Unity Fair. Hundreds lined the streets along Anaheim Blvd. as the parade headed south from Lincoln Avenue, where a giant American Flag was suspended in the air by an Anaheim Fire Dept. ladder truck.

It was a vibrant and joyful celebration of Black achievement in the face of overwhelming odds. African Americans make up about 2% of Orange County’s population. A history of redlining and “sundown” laws had long restricted the community’s growth until World War II, which saw the establishment of “Little Texas” in Santa Ana as a designated area for Black residents.

Left to right: Janice Brown, Robert Rendon, and Cheryl Ford

“The parade has been an annual event for me since the time Miss Helen Shipp began the event in 1980 with just a few people,” said Cheryl Ford, a retired County employee. Ford’s family lived just a few doors down from the Shipps in Santa Ana. Housing discrimination continued until the Civil Rights movement, when Dorothy and Lincoln Mulkey went to court to challenge housing laws allowing property owners to discriminate based on race. The Mulkeys won their fight in 1967.

This year’s Black History Month Parade takes place in an era where Republicans are trying to whitewash or erase the oppression of African Americans from our country’s history. The Trump Administration ordered the removal of slavery-related exhibits at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia and targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture for featuring “divisive” content. Additionally, the National Park Service’s decision to remove Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from its list of free entrance days for 2026 has drawn criticism.

Parade attendees say the current climate makes Black History events even more important. “What I want to say to the young people is that they are here standing on the shoulders of the grandparents and great-grandparents that have come before them,” says Janice Brown, a nurse for 39 years and UCI’s first Black nurse. “We need  to teach and show them how successful they can be in this life.”

Participants in the parade represented a diverse array of fields, including sports, politics, the law, academia – every occupation under the sun. Notable participants were Parade Grand Marshall Ronald Rochon, who is president of Cal State University, Fullerton. Bobby McDonald is president of the Orange County Black Chamber of Commerce. Judge Karen Robinson is the first Black Woman to serve on the OC Superior Court. Christina Cooper is an actress best known for her work in the films Sugar Baby, Dear White People, and The Influencer. Also in attendance representing Fullerton were Dr. Vicki Calhoun, Board of Trustees for the Fullerton Joint Union High School District, City Councilmember Dr. Ahmad Zahra, Fire Department Chief Adam Loeser, Captain J. Wisniewski, and Sargent Luis Garcia.

“This is the most important. Martin and Malcolm X and all the pastors, Jesse Jackson, oh my gosh. We have to keep this going forever,” says Brown.

Cheryl Ford poignantly remarked on the troubling willingness of some to ignore or erase history. “Wake up, America. We’re here. I don’t see these folks going away anywhere,” she said, emphasizing the ongoing presence and significance of the Black community in America.