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Black History Parade Marchers

 

Thanks for volunteering to be in Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s entry in the Black History Parade on Saturday, Feb. 15!  I’m glad that those who came to our February meeting got a glimpse to hear from Felecia what is possible.  The greater the number of participants, the more attention we will get.  We want kids and adults, all skin colors welcome.  We are partnering with Alkebu-Lan Cultural Center (Pasadena), Compassionate Arts Pasadena, and the Black and Brown Go Green Campaign.  Felecia has developed a theme honoring Pasadena-born author, Octavia Butler, and her novel, Parable of the Sower, which depicts the social struggles and chaos of a futuristic Los Angeles area that is wracked by the growing influences of climate change, among other issues.  Here is the 12 minute discussion of Parable of the Sower that Felecia recommends.

 

Along with our Citizens’ Climate Lobby banners (in English and Spanish) and an electric Nissan Leaf, we will walk from Harriet Street in Altadena, about a mile and a half down Fair Oaks Avenue to Robinson Park, joined by some of the Board members of Alkebu-Lan Cultural Center, and students from Day One in Pasadena.  We hope to work up a simple chant.  Depicting key themes of Parable, signs (produced by Day One Students, and other artists) will be displayed, and we will all portray “climate refugees” fleeing up the Interstate 5 to Northern California in a flight for survival.  Please dress for the part!  Current predictions are for a sunny, but cool day, so wear a hat, comfortable shoes, and CCL shirts & hats are welcome.  But since we are portraying diverse classes of people forced to escape, wear some ragged or stained clothes, mis-matched shoes, a daypack with your own re-usable bottle of water (and maybe some snacks).  If you’ve got a torn suit jacket, put it to use here.  We’re representing folks who have dropped everything and just have to get out.  Bring a wagon with “stuff” in it.  This is street theater, very visual, and we’re all invited and encouraged to participate!

 

As we walk along with an electric car, two pairs of CCL volunteers will carry CCL banners to help identify us.  We just got word from the parade organizers that participants in the parade cannot pass out literature or interact with parade watchers directly (fear of politicians campaigning.)   What we can, and will do, is have somebody with CCL literature walking on the sidewalk, both sides of the street, talking to people as our entry goes down the street.  We’ll have flyers with information about CCL and Octavia Butler to pass out, possibly along with a small bag of seeds from the Theodore Payne Foundation, to give them to tie in with the “parable of the sower” theme.  We can have a brief conversation about climate change and suggest they attend our next monthly meeting.  We encourage you to take pictures of the group and we can post a few on our Facebook page.   

 

The Parade starts at 10 AM (later for us, since we are tat the end), but we need to arrive earlier.  Arrive at 8:30AM and be part of the “rehearsals.”  Come at this time for the full effect.  The parade organizers expect us to all be in place no later than 9:15 AM, though, since we are at then end, we will definitely start moving down the street significantly later.   We are entry number 80.   Our position will be on Fair Oaks Avenue betwen Harriet Street and Ventura Street.  There will be delimiters marking the place for each entry.   We should be reaching the end of the parade (at Mountain Street and Fair Oaks) a little before noon.  

 

***Carpooling is encouraged.  You are likely to park a few blocks away, above the Charles White Park, which is between Mountain View Street on the south, and Ventura Street on the north.  See this map.  The later you arrive, the more you may be affected by street closures.  If you find Fair Oaks closed, Lincoln Avenue on the west, and Lake Avenue on the east will give you good access.  Woodbury Road will be open until about 9:30 AM, but closed after that.  Altadena Drive is a good through street above the parade formation area that will not be closed, so you could come down Fair Oaks from above and find parking around Harriet Street, which will be the beginning of the closure from the top of Fair Oaks.  There will be a couple of cars taking people up to their autos after the parade, but you might have to wait your turn if there is high demand.  Once the parade has finished, you can spend some time at the Black History Festival at Robinson Park, where there will be live music, food trucks and food stands. 

 

You can bring your own water, but we will have some.  We’re working on a dispenser and paper cups, but we will have bottled water as backup (hate to use them) in the Leaf, if we can’t get the dispenser. If you have questions, call Rex at (626) 616-4559 or email Rexmayreis@gmail.com.

See the map below, or better yet click here.