Aiken holds 23rd annual Black History Month parade

Story by Craig Allison – AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Black History Month is continuing on strong here in the CSRA, with Aiken holding their 23rd annual Black History Month Parade on Saturday.

Over 80 groups showed out in Downtown Aiken for Black History Month© Provided by Augusta-Aiken WRDW-TV

Music, dancing, and a message, all present among parade goers.

Born and raised Aikenite, Hattie Thurmond, has been coming out just about every year, and says, “We are still learning about our history. And it needs to be taught. It needs to be spread amongst our children so they can know it’s more to us than just the slavery.” she also says this parade is all about progress and coming together as a community.

She continued, “…Because they could’ve been doing something else, but we thank them for taking the time to help us on our history because the black history is a rich history.”

It’s a year-round effort, but this is the second year that the Black Historical

Just the day before, in partnership with “ACTS of Aiken”, they gave out over 200 hundred food bags to over 200 families in need.

President of the Black Historical Committee, Anthony White, said, “We expanding, we thinking outside the box, we want to bring our people together. This isn’t just about the black community, this is about Aiken County.”

He’s been a founding member of the committee and has watched the parade grow since it started.

But not without its history, they also announced Kappa Alpha Psi as the group with the best parade float.

With a growing turnout, they hope to bring in even more next year.