Muhammad Ali with Marjorie Stewart Joyner (pictured center) at start of Bud Billiken parade, September 23, 1969.

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Marjorie Stewart Joyner fostered a close relationship with the Abbott-Sengstacke family and greatly influenced the Bud Billiken Parade. Joyner served as the chair of Chicago Defender Charities and as president of its annual Bud Billiken Parade from the 1930s through the 1980s. As the leader of the Chicago Defender Charities, founded in 1945, she led its efforts to provide food and clothing to some of the neediest African American families in the city. Joyner continued a life of service as a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.