(Caribbean News Weekly)- Jamaican pride filled the streets of Brooklyn on Saturday as thousands gathered for New York City’s first-ever Jamaica Rising Day Parade, a new celebration of Jamaican culture, heritage and the contributions of Jamaicans and Jamaican Americans.
The inaugural parade took place Aug. 8, beginning at Church Avenue and Ocean Avenue in Flatbush before traveling north along Ocean Avenue and ending at Lincoln Road near Empire Boulevard.
The event brought together members of Brooklyn’s large Jamaican and Caribbean community, along with elected officials, performers and cultural organizations, in a celebration that organizers hope will become an annual tradition.
“We’re excited to be out here, the first ever Jamaican Day Parade,” New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said. “You see all the Jamaican flags out there. You see different cultures coming out to celebrate one culture.”
The parade came as Jamaica prepares to mark its 64th anniversary of independence on Aug. 6, highlighting the strong cultural ties between Jamaica and its diaspora in New York.
Organizers have described the event as America’s first Jamaica Rising Day Parade. The celebration was designed to showcase Jamaican music, food and culture while promoting cultural preservation, education, community empowerment and economic development within the Jamaican diaspora.
The festivities began earlier in the day with a VIP breakfast before the parade took over the streets of Flatbush.
DJ Danglez, a Brooklyn native of Jamaican descent and member of Federation Sound, was among the featured entertainment for the celebration.
For organisers and attendees, the inaugural parade represented more than a day of festivities. It was also an opportunity to recognize the influence of Jamaican immigrants and Jamaican Americans on New York City and to create a dedicated platform for celebrating Jamaican identity.
Brooklyn has long been a center of Jamaican life in New York, with Jamaican businesses, restaurants, cultural organizations and community institutions concentrated throughout neighborhoods including Flatbush and East Flatbush.
The Jamaica Rising Day Parade is intended to build on that legacy and establish a new annual tradition for the city’s Jamaican community and the broader diaspora.
