NEW YORK—In the streets of Harlem, there was a demonstration of the richness of culture, beauty, and a glimpse of Black unity as marchers, dancers, community groups, politicians, supporters, and an array of spectators adorned in cultural dress, uniforms and some wearing red, black and green, at the 55th annual African American Day Parade. This year’s parade was held on Sept. 15.
Sounds from floats, African drummers, steppers, activists, and a host of Black unions filled the beautiful summer day. Performers traveled from Alabama, Chicago, Georgia, Maryland, and other parts of the country to perform on the open stage called Harlem Streets. Grand Marshals of the parade included:
New York Attorney General Letitia James, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgato, Speaker of the New York City Council Adrienne Adams, State Senator Cordell Cleare, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, City Councilman Yusef Salaam and State Assembly Member Stafani Zinerman.
The crowd on Adam Clayton Blvd. stretched from West 110th Street to West 137th Street. They enjoyed the decorum, discipline and military drill demonstration by the Fruit of Islam (F.O.I.), the men of the Nation of Islam, as various commands were called by the drill instructors. The drill demonstration was one of the highlights of the parade.
The strong representation in this year’s parade, led by Student Minister Arthur Muhammad and local Student F.O.I. Captain Richard Muhammad from the historic Mosque No. 7, delighted the crowd as they expressed their sincere appreciation for seeing the many brothers in ranks.
The brothers were dressed in their distinctive blue, brown and beige F.O.I. uniforms. The Jr. F.O.I. were dressed in burgundy and gold uniforms. Their drill formation was done with rhythmic sequences and precision timing.
The message shared by Student Minister Arthur was a clarion call for Black people to unite to solve the plights in our communities. “The message that I wanted to give to the many good people of Harlem is that our strength is in our unity,” Student Min. Arthur said.
“If we had greater unity, we would be able to stop this senseless violence that plagues most of our communities in general but here in the broader Harlem community in particular.
Along with the suffering of many of our Black and Brown families who are suffering from food insecurities, if we were united not just for the parade but year-round, we would be able to help a significant amount of our people who are struggling,” he added.
“The Nation of Islam was strong and was one of the most powerful groups in the parade,” Yusef Hassan, Chairman of the African American Day Parade, joyously exclaimed.
“They kept the focus on our people and the people cheered and clapped for them as they looked so uniform. I want to thank Minister Arthur for being there and bringing the soldiers in units and bringing out the best in us,” he added.
