News Briefs

Annie Malone parade back on for this year

St. Louis Public Radio | By Rachel Lippmann

Published Feb. 27, 2025 at 4:50 p.m. CST

The University City High School Marching Band performs during the 2018 Annie Malone May Day parade. — The University City High School Marching Band performs during the 2018 Annie Malone May Day Parade. The 2025 parade will go on as scheduled after getting enough community support.

The Annie Malone May Day Parade will take place in 2025.

The social service agency announced Thursday that it had secured the support necessary to stage the parade on May 18. It had previously canceled the event in order to be able to continue to provide food and shelter to its clients.

“I spent all day yesterday in Jefferson City speaking with our senators, state representatives and community leaders about the parade, and let me tell you — the support was overwhelming," Annie Malone CEO Keisha Lee said in a statement.

The agency had been seeking donations from the public to help support the May Day Parade.

It has taken place almost every year since 1910 and is the agency’s largest fundraiser. The original route went through the Greater Ville neighborhood, a hub of Black life in St. Louis. It moved to downtown in 2005.

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