Harlem, a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City, is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west, the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north, Fifth Avenue on the east, and Central Park North on the south. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658 and named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands, Harlem's history has been defined by a series of economic boom-and-bust cycles, with significant population shifts accompanying each cycle.
Harlem's history has been defined by a series of economic boom-and-bust cycles, with significant population shifts accompanying each cycle. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands. Harlem was predominantly occupied by Jewish and Italian Americans in the late 19th century, while African-American residents began to arrive in large numbers during the Great Migration in the early 20th century.
The African American Day Parade in Harlem stands as a vibrant testament to the neighborhood's rich cultural heritage and the enduring spirit of its community. The parade, held annually on the third Sunday of September, is one of the largest celebrations of African American culture in the United States.
The 54th annual African American Day Parade (AADP) was held on Sunday, September 17th, 2023, in Harlem, New York. AADP presented a pre-parade show featuring performances including a presentation from Uptown Dance Academy. For the first time, the AADP hosted an event, “Get Involved-Community Celebration of Literacy, Health & Culture,” the day before the parade on Saturday, September 16th, 2023, at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
Dancing its way up from 111th to 137th streets, the parade considers Harlem, itself, as the mecca of African-American culture. The parade is held every third Sunday in September and goes up Adam Clayton Powell Jr. representative of Harlem from the mid 1940s to early 1970s. Organizers describe it as an incredible display of Black culture and excellence.
Read also: Experience Fad's Fine African Cuisine
The parade dates back to the late 1960s and this era coincided with the Black Power and Black Arts Movement.
The AADP chooses a theme from one of five sectors-health, politics/government, arts/culture, education, and business-as the annual theme of the parade. There are grand marshals, marshals and honorary guests, marching bands, dance performances, appearances from Black elected officials, leaders from community organizations, influential figures from the performing arts and media.
This year's grand marshals included Mayor Eric Adams and state Attorney General Letitia James, among several other honorary guests, and this year's theme was "Good leaders equal good government ... vote." Each year, the parade brings together bands and dancers, youth groups and local leaders to celebrate Harlem's history as a beacon for Black people around the world. But new this year, before the parade, organizers threw a Get Involved literacy, health and cultural event Saturday.
The Pan-African red, black, and green flags waved, symbolizing Black liberation and unity, values 10-year-old Alasia Simms appreciates as she attended her first parade."I think it's nice how we get to learn about our culture more, for all the people who helped us and fight for us," Simms said."It's just a day of unity, a day of fun, a day of celebration," resident Denise Garner said.
Neighbor Ruth Valentine said the display of Black excellence has made her come back every year for five decades."The love of Harlem. Sunday and marched along Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard from 111th to 136th street.
Read also: The Story Behind Cachapas
The AADP has not only celebrated Black culture and history, in the 1980s the parade’s organizers used the occasion as a platform for civics by launching a voter registration drive, and to demonstrate solidarity with people of African descent across the diaspora and continental Africa.
The inaugural parade held on Sept 21, 1969, traveled along Seventh Avenue (now known as Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.) from 111th St. and ended at 143rd St. In its coverage of the AADP, the New York Amsterdam News reported that there were over 100,000 marchers, 160 Black organizations that participated, and 200,000 spectators. The theme for the inaugural parade was "Africa’s Gift to America." The grand marshals were Adam Clayton Powell and Shirley Chisholm. Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton was the parade marshal. Ossie Davis, the actor, playwright and activist, delivered remarks. Harlem-based organizations such as National Black Theatre, La Rocque Bey Dance, and other cultural organizations were represented. A rally held at the 143rd St.
In 1985 the New York Amsterdam News reported that there would be two specially designed floats at the 17th AADP; one of which called for an end to starvation in Africa and another about apartheid in South Africa.
The souvenir program for the 26th AADP in 1994 documents the connection between New York City (Harlem) and Africa as it contains a photo of a trip taken by the activist Audley "Queen Mother" Moore and Dr. Delois Blakely (the honorary Mayor of Harlem) to Zambia, Africa, in the early 1990s. Moore and Blakely posed with South African president Nelson Mandela. Another photo shows a visit made by members of the Senegalese Murid Islamic sect to New York City and their meeting with then mayor David Dinkins.
The African American Day Parade was founded in 1968 by the Afro-American Day and United Federation of Black Community Organizations. The AADP chose its parade starting place to be Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd because of its historical significance in Black culture. The African American Day Parade was started just one year after the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was passed. was not only a source of entertainment and a celebration of Black culture, but it was also a force for change and Black empowerment.
Read also: Techniques of African Jewellery
Libraries and archives like the Schomburg Center and newspapers including the New York Amsterdam News help to document and preserve these events so that future generations may reflect upon the past while keeping these traditions going into the future.
The African American Day Parade is a celebration of Black power, a day to remember how far our culture and our people have come.
The legacy of black voices is evident in our Black leaders, lawyers, realtors, celebrities, coaches, and entrepreneurs.
The early-20th century Great Migration of black people to northern industrial cities was fueled by their desire to leave behind the Jim Crow South, seek better jobs and education for their children, and escape a culture of lynching violence; during World War I, expanding industries recruited black laborers to fill new jobs, thinly staffed after the draft began to take young men.
So many black people came that it "threaten[ed] the very existence of some of the leading industries of Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama." Many settled in Harlem.
Between the end of World War I and the mid-1930s, they produced one of the most significant eras of cultural expression in the nation’s history-the Harlem Renaissance.
The Harlem Renaissance encompassed poetry and prose, painting and sculpture, jazz and swing, opera and dance. Among the Renaissance’s most significant contributors were intellectuals W.E.B. At the height of the movement, Harlem was the epicenter of American culture. The neighborhood bustled with African American-owned and run publishing houses and newspapers, music companies, playhouses, nightclubs, and cabarets.
The movement brought notice to the great works of African American art, and inspired and influenced future generations of African American artists and intellectuals. The self-portrait of African American life, identity, and culture that emerged from Harlem was transmitted to the world at large, challenging the racist and disparaging stereotypes of the Jim Crow South. Most importantly, the Harlem Renaissance instilled in African Americans across the country a new spirit of self-determination and pride, a new social consciousness, and a new commitment to political activism, all of which would provide a foundation for the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
The Apollo Theater opened on 125th Street on January 26, 1934, in a former burlesque house. The Savoy Ballroom, on Lenox Avenue, was a renowned venue for swing dancing, and was immortalized in a popular song of the era, "Stompin' at the Savoy". 133rd Street, known as "Swing Street", became known for its cabarets, speakeasies and jazz scene during the Prohibition era, and was dubbed "Jungle Alley" because of "inter-racial mingling" on the street.
From 1967 to 1969, the Harlem Cultural Festival took place in Mount Morris Park. Another name for this festival is "Black Woodstock".
Arthur Mitchell, a former dancer with the New York City Ballet, established Dance Theatre of Harlem as a school and company of classical ballet and theater training in the late 1960s. The company has toured nationally and internationally.
Many R&B/Soul groups and artists formed in Harlem. Manhattan's contributions to hip-hop stems largely from artists with Harlem roots such as Doug E. Fresh, Big L, Kurtis Blow, The Diplomats, Mase or Immortal Technique.
In the 1920s, African-American pianists who lived in Harlem invented their own style of jazz piano, called stride, which was heavily influenced by ragtime.
Religious life has historically had a strong presence in Black Harlem. The area is home to over 400 churches, some of which are official city or national landmarks. Major Christian denominations include Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists Episcopalians, and Roman Catholic. The Abyssinian Baptist Church has long been influential because of its large congregation.
Mosques in Harlem include the Masjid Malcolm Shabazz (formerly Mosque No. 7 Nation of Islam, and the location of the 1972 Harlem mosque incident), the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood and Masjid Aqsa. Judaism, too, maintains a presence in Harlem through the Old Broadway Synagogue.
The demographics of Harlem's communities have changed throughout its history. The period between 1910 and 1930 was marked by the Great Migration of African Americans from the South to northern cities, including New York. Within the city, this era also witnessed an influx of black residents from downtown Manhattan neighborhoods, where black people were feeling less welcome, to the Harlem area.
The black population in Harlem peaked in 1950, with a 98% share of the population of 233,000.
Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Central Harlem was 118,665, a change of 9,574 (8.1%) from the 109,091 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 926.05 acres (374.76 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 128.1 inhabitants per acre (82,000/sq mi; 31,700/km2). The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 9.5% (11,322) White, 63% (74,735) African American, 0.3% (367) Native American, 2.4% (2,839) Asian, 0% (46) Pacific Islander, 0.3% (372) from other races, and 2.2% (2,651) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.2% (26,333) of the population.
The most significant shifts in the racial composition of Central Harlem between 2000 and 2010 were the White population's increase by 402% (9,067), the Hispanic / Latino population's increase by 43% (7,982), and the Black population's decrease by 11% (9,544).
As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 10 was $49,059.
In 2018, an estimated 21% of Community District 10 residents lived in poverty, compared to 14% in all of Manhattan and 20% in all of New York City. Around 12% of residents were unemployed, compared to 7% in Manhattan and 9% in New York City.
The African American Day Parade in Harlem is a powerful symbol of Black culture, unity, and empowerment. It is a time to celebrate the achievements of the past, address the challenges of the present, and look forward to a brighter future.
Here is a table summarizing key demographic data for Central Harlem:
Map of Upper Manhattan, with Greater Harlem highlighted
