LIFESTYLE AND CULTURE

AFRICAN AMERICAN DAY 2009
Traditionally, African American Day has been a much celebrated event in NYC. However, as more ethnic groups assimilate into the African American Community an increasingly growing number of Black Americans are opting to abandon their own culture, heritage and traditions including holidays and cultural celebrations. The once very popular and well attended African American Day Parade is now victim to this growing trend. One of the contributing factors during the past five or six years the organizers have failed to keep the parade relevant and appealing to the community at large. Many blacks now choose to attend the more popular and better organized Peurto Rican and Dominican Day Parades in Manhattan. This year's parade was the worse it has ever been. Firstly, all major parades in the city are held on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The entire notion of hosting the parade in Harlem has long been a bust. Harlem residents "alone" see Harlem as the center of the black community in NYC. Long gone are the days when Harlem was recognized as "the Mecca" with the likes of the Apollo Theater and 125th Street headlining. Today's Black Culture and Community in NYC is far more diverse and evenly distributed across the 5 boroughs. The organizers should consider moving the parade to Fifth Avenue to incorporate all of the black communities into the celebration.Secondly, because of poor advertising and promotion. Community support and participation has dwindled year after year to a handful of people. All of the other cultural events and parades in the city are prominently advertised by local community calendars, posters in the transit hubs and on the radio stations as community service announcements. The African American Day Parade was not publicized in print or radio anywhere within the community. It was a very short string of groups that were separated by 20 minutes between each group. 12 bands and groups from "Baltimore, Maryland" and 7 groups from surrounding counties and cities within New York State provided the bulk of the parade. The biggest embarrassment was the fact that only 8 groups from the 5 boroughs and they were civil service employee groups - fire, police, sanitation and correction departments. The largest non civil service group that participated was The Fraternal Orders of Masons and Eastern Stars. The Islamic Brothers and Sisters of Harlem looked fabulous and very well groomed as always. The only radio station that participated was "WBLS" and the only community leaders and politicians that attended were those running for public office this year - John Liu (running for comptroller), Bill Thompson (running for mayor), Bill de Blasio (running for public advocate), The hot and enticing NYC GYM BOYS kept the girls (and fellas) screaming all day! Noticeably absent were any celebrities or personalities from the black community at large. 6 people from Al Sharpton's Action Network marched but Al Sharpton was no where to be found. A sad commentary given the wealth of talent and star power that call NYC home. It is better to not hold the event if organizers cannot realize they are loosing the trust and respect of the community sponsoring such as a fiascoFinally, the organizers must keep the parade and events relevant to the times. The majority of the observers who came out for the parade were either under the age of 12or older than 45. The parade should attract and be appealing to all members of the community. The police presence was so overwhelming that it appeared as if it was a police event. Police should be present but not so promenent that they create an atmosphere where everyone is anticipating an waiting for trouble. It is safe to say that unless dramatic changes are made this parade will be a thing of the past!