A father beckoned to his two young children, both wearing khaki Scout uniforms and vests. The trio walking down the middle of Central Street before the Evanston Fourth of July Parade caught the eye of Vineyard Church Minister Alec Childress.
“Thank you for being Scouts,” Childress said to the children. “That’s a foundation of life, learning how to pass along kindness.”
The Evanston Fourth of July Association chooses Evanston residents to be the parade’s grand marshals each year. They represent the chosen theme of that year’s parade – this year, the motto was “truth guides, justice unites, kindness heals.” Childress was one of four grand marshals for the parade, alongside Judge Lionel Jean-Baptiste, Police Chief Schenita Stewart and retired lawyer Jill Wine-Banks.
This year’s marshals are all longtime Evanston residents. Childress moved to the area in 1956 to gain more opportunities than in his hometown in Mississippi. Wine-Banks was born in Chicago and moved around for her career as general counsel of the U.S. Army, but eventually settled in Evanston in 1980 to marry her high school sweetheart. Both Jean-Baptiste and Stewart grew up in Evanston; Jean-Baptiste graduated from Evanston Township High School, and Stewart, who became the town’s police chief in 2022, even remembers attending the parade as a kid.
“It’s an honor to be a part of this, to now be a grown-up, be the chief of police and now a grand marshal,” Stewart said.
Many people held up “No Kings” posters criticizing President Donald Trump’s policies, with various floats toward the middle of the parade. The signs allude to a nationwide “No Kings” march that took place on June 14, but even in the face of political tensions, Wine-Banks said she tries to represent justice, truth and bipartisanship as a grand marshal.
“Facts should matter. Facts mattered during Watergate. Facts don’t matter anymore,” said Wine-Banks, who helped prosecute former U.S. president Richard Nixon. “During Watergate, facts were accepted by both the Republicans and Democrats.”
Thousands of residents and visitors attend the festivities and participate in the dozens of parade floats. The grand marshals ride their vehicles of choice at the front of the parade, with big banners displaying their names on the front and back of their locomotives. They’re allowed to bring family with them. For Childress, whose granddaughters sat in the car with him while his grandson drove, the parade is more than a fun celebration of the country’s history: It’s a reminder of unity.
“At the end of the day, I believe that our Maker intends for us to be a community,” Childress said. “I think in Evanston, this parade shows we’re one people.”
