The Chicago Defender (which doesn't seem to have a website) began the Bud Billiken parade in 1929 to reward the children who delivered their newspapers. The name comes from a Chinese legend where a billiken, a guardian angel, would protect children. It is the largest parade in the city and the second largest parade in the country (the Rose Bowl parade takes first place.) Last years parade lasted for 5 hours with more than 250 participants. Central City Productions has a promotional video you can watch online. And, Edward Marshall's dad took his son's plea to be King of the parade to an internet forum hosted by his church.