BLUEFIELD, W. Va. -While Black History Month dates back to the seventies, one celebration in the City of Bluefield was started relatively recently, a parade with the goal of bringing a new tradition to the Northside/East End community.

“Northside, to me, is always forgotten, and we hate for it to be like that, so we try to do things for Northside, so we can pull ourselves back together and do what our grandparents wanted us to do…” says Deborah “Trixie” Sauders from the North/East Collective, “…We got to do more things for everybody in the City, not just one side, but everybody.”

The parade retuned for its third year, with people of all ages taking part. We spoke to, Kathy Easley, a leader for the 4H Clubs for Bluefield Intermediate and Middle Schools who encouraged her young members to get involved as well.

“Because our schools have many, many African American children, and I think it’s part of our history being an American that we should support this one hundred percent in support of the children who go to our schools and live in our community,” says Easley.

The parade took a path over the Martin Luther King Junior Bridge and down to the Greater Mt. Zion Pentecostal Church and was greeted by local families along the way. We spoke to East End resident, Sharon Hunt-Bigelow, who says she hopes this parade will bring the community together and says it’s “wonderful” to see the young people participating in this new tradition.

“It’s for our children. When I see our children, the babies, growing up, and I know the type of life that we have through our mentors, we want to do the same for them,” says Hunt-Bigelow.

Those we spoke to say anyone who wants to join them next year can do so, with Hunt-Bigelow encouraging those of all ages to come be a part of the community.

Sauders says the tradition has grown since it began, but she would like to see more people get involved. You can look for more information on the parade’s return on the WVVA Community Calendar.

Copyright 2025 WVVA. All rights reserved.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts


This will close in 0 seconds