2012 Africa Day Parade Held in New York

By Kwabena Opong

 

Africa Day Parade 2012 in New York City held Sunday, September 23, 2012 would probably go down as one of the most memorable festivals organized by Africans in recent times. The highlight of the Parade, besides its goal was the artful acrobatic performance of a masked man from Burkina Faso. The Burkinabe also “stole” the show with its fantastic float. Attendance was comparatively higher than previous years. This year’s parade was held in honor of State Senator Bill Perkins. Among the marshals were New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, Sidiq Wai, New York City police liaison for the Muslim community and other city officials. Also present was the Burkinabe Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Mr. Sidiq Wai described Police Commissioner Kelly in his introduction as the best police commissioner in the country, disclosing to the crowd that the City’s police chief has visited every African country.

The parade started from 134th Street and ended at the Rosa Parks Park off 125th Street where it assembled at the Amphitheater for more entertainment.

In a short speech Commissioner Kelly praised the African community for its contributions to their adopted city and stressed that the police department was not an appendage of the USCIS and that the department was a body to protect all the people of New York.

The political significance of this year’s event could be discerned from the numbers that attended the parade. A bystander remarked to this reporter that it should be a regular feature in the city’s cultural calendar. “This has to continue because it is important to the city,” he added.

Some Africans interviewed expected to see even more participants next year. They also expected to see a lot more cultural displays. “I want to see the Ashanti kings and their big umbrellas,” one participant added.

 

 

Posted by on Oct 18 2012. Filed under Community News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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