Written by: Albert Terc
Photos by: Albert Terc
The second leg of the parade weekend was as huge a contrast as you can get. The 54th annual African American Day Parade on Adam Clayton Jr. Blvd. was loud and wild with lots of dancing, music, and a plenty of audience participation. The parade is billed as the largest African American Day parade in the country and it probably is. Hundreds of thousands came out to the parade route to cheer on the marchers and dancers. Family and friends made a great big picnic with all the fixings at the parade. Marchers gathered just south of 116th Street and marched or danced up to the reviewing stand at 125th Street where announcers greeted them and presented them to the VIP section and large crowd gathered there to see their presentation.
This year’s parade theme was “Celebrating African American Culture” and that they did. There was plenty of hip hop and old skool music from floats with DJs and large speakers getting the crowd all worked up and having fun dancing in the streets. That’s what a real parade is supposed to make you do, dance in the streets. Large groups of marchers from health groups, community based organizations, civil servants, and labor unions made up a huge portion of the parade. Each one had their own floats with music and dancers. Of course, a parade isn’t a parade without a marching band. A perennial favorite came out from Uniondale High School to once again show why they’re the favorites in this parade. Right after them, a cheerleading squad got the crowd worked up for more dancing. One of the highlights of the parade was when Brooklyn United dancers and band helped celebrate someone’s birthday party…Brooklyn style.
One of the most popular groups of the parade are the local chapters of the national fraternities and sororities. AKA always has the best moves and has one of the largest groups. They definitely make their presence felt. The last groups of the parade are always the best. Marching Units from Baltimore come up and put on some really high energy performances. This year I had to leave early, so I wasn’t able to capture some of the best performances as in previous years, but they were still fun to watch. Returning to the parade this year were the Epic Attraction Marching Unit. They were pretty good. The Dynasty Marching Unit got the crowd worked up. One of my favorites are the Go Getters marching unit. They always bring their A game. This years parade was a huge success with lots of good vibes and positive messages going out to the community.
NYC Parade Life 