After a two-year hiatus, Montclair celebrated the Fourth of July with its annual parade on Monday, July 4.
This year, for the first time, the parade had two grand marshals leading the procession — Toni’s Kitchen and the Human Needs Food Pantry, two organizations established in 1982 that are dedicated to ending food insecurity in Montclair and surrounding communities.
The parade will also be dedicated to Al Pelham, a pillar in the Montclair community who died last August. Pelham, former president of the Montclair NAACP and the Montclair African-American Heritage Foundation, spent decades fighting for the rights of marginalized communities.Â
The parade was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
— PHOTOS BY JULIAN MACHADO RIGG