Harlem Was Lit For the African American Day Parade

Written by: Albert Terc

Photos by: Albert Terc

The second part of the dual parade weekend took me up to Harlem where the 57th annual African American Day Parade kicked off with the loud and proud Grambling University Marching Band playing with lots of attitude and energy. A misty light rain kept the crowd to lower than usual, but the decibel level was still high. People were out marching proudly and dancing to their favorite tunes from the many floats that made it up the parade route on Adam Clayton Jr. Blvd. Just passed the shadows of the famous Apollo Theater on 125th St., a stage was set up where a radio host from WBLS announced the marching groups to the festive crowd. Lots of people crowded the stage area when this year’s Grand Marshall, NYS Attorney General Leticia James spoke to the crowd and reminded them of the obstacles of her journey. She stated she was persecuted for doing her job and holding people accountable for crimes regardless of their position or title. The best line was when you get attacked like that, stand up and grow a backbone. Stand strong. The crowd cheered her on. Tish James is truly a champion of the people and glad she was honored in this grand event.

**NYS Attorney General Leticia James Addresses the Crowd**

**AKA Showing Off Why They Are Number 1**

The first part of the parade has mostly politicians greeting the spectators. Many community services groups reached out to the public including Mount Sinai Hospital, WARM (a domestic violence prevention group), NYFD looking for new recruits, and a Street Corner Resources group dedicated to providing youth with viable means to become productive and prevent gang membership. This year’s parade focused more on entrepreneurs. Several small black owned businesses sent their representatives to market their services or products. There were many dance schools this year and many of them put a lot of time into their performances.

There’s a lot of history to this parade. It represents meaningful pride and representation of the culture for many decades. Parade sponsors boast this is the largest celebration of Black culture in the nation. People come from all parts of the country to be part of the big event. Most notably many of the collegiate sororities and fraternities from around the country march but mostly dance in the parade. The much-anticipated arrival of AKA brought many cheers from the crowd. They showed why they are the best of the best…every year. This year the Zeta’s brought the moves to get the crowd worked up. One group that is a perennial favorite are the Baltimore All-Stars Marching Unit. Every year they bring the energy that makes Harlem shake. Spectators can’t help but dance and yell to encourage the dancers. They are definitely a crowd favorite. I was happy to see a new drill team coming in from Nebraska. They danced with lots of energy and reminded me of dance moves that go way back. Watching this event unfold was something special. A new generation embracing the heritage of old with love and respect. For it’s up to them to blaze new trails from what groundwork previous mavericks left behind. From I saw, things are looking really good.

African American Day Parade~Harlem USA~2026~Best Youth Dance School Puts on a Show~NYCParadelife

African American Day Parade~Harlem USA~2026~AKA Show Why They Are the Best~NYCParadelife

African American Day Parade~Harlem, USA~2026~Grambling Gets the Parade Started~NYCParadelife

African American Day Parade~Harlem ~2026~Sorority and Frat Letters Bring Their Moves~NYCParadelife

African American Day Parade~Harlem~2026~Destruction Drill Team, Nebraska~NYCParadelife