The West Indian Day Parade Carnival is an annual celebration of
West Indian
A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...
culture, held annually on around the first Monday of September in
Crown Heights,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. It is organized by the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA).
The main event is the West Indian Day Parade (also known as simply the
Labor Day Parade), which attracts between one and three million participants. The spectators and participators watch and follow the
parade on its route along
Eastern Parkway
Eastern Parkway is a major road that runs through a portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, it was the world's first parkway, having been built between 1870 and 1874. At the time o ...
. Some of the
Caribbean islands represented in the parade include
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
,
Haiti,
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
,
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...
,
Dominica,
Saint Lucia,
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
,
Saint Vincent and
Grenada, along with some
Afro-Panamanians
Afro-Panamanians are Panamanians of African descent. The Afro-Panamanian population can be mainly broken into one of two categories "Afro-Colonials", Afro-Panamanians descended from slaves brought to Panama during the colonial period, and "Afro-A ...
. mainland Caribbean countries such as
Guyana,
Suriname, and
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
also participate as well.
History
Start in Harlem
Jessie Waddell and some of her West Indian friends started the
Carnival in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
in the 1930s by staging
costume parties
A costume party (American English) or fancy dress party (other varieties of English) is a type of party, common in contemporary Western culture, in which many of the guests are dressed in costume, usually depicting a fictional or stock chara ...
in large, enclosed places like the Savoy, Renaissance and
Audubon Ballrooms due to the cold wintry weather of February. This is the usual time for the pre-
Lenten
Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
celebrations of the
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival
The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event held on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in Trinidad and Tobago. This event is well known for participants' colorful costumes and exuberant celebrations. There are numerous cultural e ...
and other related celebrations around the world. However, because of the very nature of Carnival, and the need to parade in costume to music, indoor confinement did not work well.
The earliest known Carnival street parade was held on September 1, 1947. The
Trinidad Carnival Pageant Committee was the founding force behind the parade, which was held in Harlem. The parade route was along
Seventh Avenue, starting at 110th St.
The first Carnival Queen was
Dorothy Godfrey. The Committee raised money to finance the parade. They sold advertisement space and boosters, that were printed in a Souvenir Journal for West Indies Day, a booklet which is a memento of that first parade. Jessie Waddell Compton is presented in the journal as the person "whose inspiration and enterprise" was owed to the formation of this committee. The committee consisted of Waddell Compton-Chairman;
Ivan H. Daniel-Vice Chairman;
Conrad Matthews-Treasurer;
Roy Huggins
Roy Huggins (July 18, 1914 – April 3, 2002) was an American novelist and an influential writer/creator and producer of character-driven television series, including ''Maverick'', '' The Fugitive'', ''Hunter'', and ''The Rockford Files''. He ...
-Secretary;
and Robert J. Welsh-Assistant Secretary. Each member of the committee contributed in helping to organize the parade. The after-parade party, which the Trinidad Carnival Pageant Committee held at the
Golden Gate Ballroom, was arranged by
James M. Green, another figure who helped make the first Carnival Parade in Harlem successful.
Move to Crown Heights
The permit for the Harlem parade was revoked in 1964. Five years later, a committee headed by Carlos Lezama, which eventually became the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association, obtained approval for the parade to be established on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, where it remains today.
In 2020, the parade was cancelled due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
by order of Mayor of New York
Bill de Blasio, who canceled all permits for large-scale events through September 2020. The parade was replaced by a
virtual event
Virtual may refer to:
* Virtual (horse), a thoroughbred racehorse
* Virtual channel, a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel (or range of frequencies) on which the signal travels
* Virtual function, a programming ...
.
While the parade did plan to return for 2021, on August 18, 2021 the WIADCA announced that the parade itself would once again be cancelled due to COVID-19 uncertainties, but that it would still hold a mix of in-person and streaming events, including several being held at the
Brooklyn Museum.
In popular culture
Many
calypso and
soca songs from Trinidad make reference to the Labor Day Carnival, including "Gun Play in de Parkway" by
Calypso Rose
Calypso Rose or Linda McCartha Monica Sandy-Lewis (born April 27, 1940 in Bethel Village, Tobago) is a Trinidadian calypsonian. She started writing songs at the age of 13; over the years, she has composed more than 1000 songs and recorded more th ...
, "Melee (on the Eastern Parkway)" by Maestro, Labor Day Jam by the Guyanese superstar, Slingshot, and "Labor Day in Brooklyn" by the
Mighty Sparrow
Slinger Francisco ORTT CM OBE (born July 9, 1935), better known as Mighty Sparrow, is a Trinidadian calypso vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist. Known as the "Calypso King of the World", he is one of the best-known and most successful caly ...
.
Jay-Z mentions the Labor Day Carnival on his hit song "
Empire State of Mind
"Empire State of Mind" is a song performed by American rapper Jay-Z featuring American singer Alicia Keys from the former's 11th studio album, ''The Blueprint 3'' (2009). It was released on October 20, 2009. Produced by Al Shux, the song feature ...
" (2009), when he says "3 dice Cee-lo, 3 card monte, Labor Day Parade, rest in peace Bob Marley". There are also popular Haitian bands with their powerful
meringue
Meringue (, ; ) is a type of dessert or candy, often associated with Swiss, French, Polish and Italian cuisines, traditionally made from whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or cream o ...
-''
compas'' music on the parkway, such as
T-Vice
T-Vice is a Haitian compas band currently based in Miami, Florida. The group has performed throughout the world, most notably in cities of Miami, New York City, Chicago, Toronto, Paris and throughout the Caribbean through various concerts, carniva ...
,
Tabou Combo, Konpa Kreyol/Kreyol La,
Sweet Micky
Michel Joseph Martelly (; born 12 February 1961) is a Haitian musician and politician who was the President of Haiti from May 2011 until February 2016. He was sanctioned by the Canadian Government for his involvement in human rights violations ...
, Phantoms, Carimi, Djakout, D.P. Express and many more popular bands.
Incidents
A string of fatal and non-fatal shootings and stabbings has occurred on and near the parade route in recent years, both during and following the parade.
In 2003, a man was fatally shot and another was stabbed in the neck. In 2005, one man was shot and killed along the parade route. In 2006, one man was shot and another was stabbed. At the 2007 parade, there was only one official report of violence, when a man was shot twice in the leg. However, a different man (named Nathaniel Smith) was shot and killed in the 2007 parade. In 2011 pre-dawn marches took a violent turn with the murder of one person, five instances of gunshot victims and three instances of stabbings coupled with sporadic shooting at crowds of people.
Following the 2011 parade, Yolanda Lezama-Clark, The President of the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA) and other New York City officials condemned the one or two incidents that took place at the parade.
Additionally during the 2011 West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn, New York City councilman
Jumaane Williams
Jumaane D. Williams ( ; born May 11, 1976) is an American activist and politician who has served as the New York City Public Advocate since 2019. He is a former member of the New York City Council from the 45th district, which includes East Fla ...
along with a few others were arrested for walking along a closed-off sidewalk, after stating he had received permission to do so from other officers.
Several violent incidents took place after the official end of the 2012 parade. In separate incidents, two people were fatally stabbed, and two others were shot. In 2013, two men were murdered and a further three individuals were wounded in several shootings.
On September 7, 2015, a pre-parade
J'ouvert
J'ouvert ( ) or Jour ouvert is a traditional festival known as "break day" or the unofficial start of Carnival, which takes place on the Monday before Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christi ...
celebration was marred by violence when, at 3:41 a.m., gunfire hit lawyer Carey Gabay in the head. Gabay was an aide to
New York Governor
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ha ...
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cu ...
and first deputy counsel at
Empire State Development Corporation
Empire State Development (ESD) is the umbrella organization for New York's two principal economic development public-benefit corporations, the New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and the New York Job Development Authority (JDA). T ...
. Gabay died nine days later. The shooting was one of several violent episodes, including a fatal stabbing, in the hours before the parade.
On September 5, 2016, during pre-parade celebrations, two people were shot and killed and five others wounded in attacks. The attacks occurred despite the NYPD doubling the number of officers patrolling the neighborhood, installing 42 new security cameras and erecting 200 light towers. Police also distributed fliers, in conjunction with community groups, with a blunt message: "This community will no longer tolerate this violence. Do not shoot anyone. Do not stab anyone."
See also
*
Caribbean Carnival
Caribbean Carnival is the term used in the English speaking world for a series of events, held annually throughout almost the whole year in many Caribbean islands and worldwide.
The Caribbean's carnivals have several common themes, all originati ...
*
J'ouvert
J'ouvert ( ) or Jour ouvert is a traditional festival known as "break day" or the unofficial start of Carnival, which takes place on the Monday before Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christi ...
*
Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto
The Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly known as Caribana, is a festival of Caribbean culture and traditions held each summer in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a pan-Caribbean Carnival event and has been billed as North America's ...
References
*
External links
"West Indian-American Day Carnival Association" (WIADCA)official website
"Maps & Neighborhoods - Brooklyn" from the officia
"NYC & Company"website
from the officia
"Brooklyn Tourism and Visitors Center" website
{{Carnival around the world
Caribbean-American culture in New York City
Carnival in the United States
Parades in New York City
Summer events in the United States
Festivals of Caribbean culture abroad