National Juneteenth of Alabama Freedom Day Parade

About this event

The Freedom Day Parade kicks off Juneteenth in Birmingham with an 8:00 AM lineup at Kelly Ingram Park and a 9:00 AM step-off through the Civil Rights District. Marching bands from Miles College and other HBCUs, motorcycle clubs, Greek-letter organizations, civic groups, and church floats process past the 16th Street Baptist Church, the A.G. Gaston Motel, and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the very corridor where the 1963 Children's Crusade was attacked by Bull Connor's forces. Now a route of celebration rather than confrontation, the parade visibly reclaims downtown Birmingham for Black freedom. Spectators line the route before continuing on to the day's Kelly Ingram Park commemoration, BCRI free admission, and evening block party.