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Haitian Community Marches in New York’s West Indian Day Parade Amid Trauma and Resilience
Confirmed
In Short: For New York's Haitian community, the annual West Indian Day Parade takes on a somber tone this year, reflecting the challenges of losing temporary protected status and the ongoing struggles in Haiti.
New York's Haitian community is marching under more solemn circumstances this year," Natalie Lafontant, a Brooklyn native who organizes Lespri Ayiti, or "Spirit of Haiti," the largest Haitian "mas" in Monday's parade, told local news outlets. "There’s a somber cloud over it with everything that has happened from last year to this year with TPS... what’s happening in detention centers, and those who are being sent back with no valid way of living or supporting themselves.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Mullin v. Doe that federal courts cannot review the Trump administration's decision to end temporary protected status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants, clearing the way for roughly 350,000 Haitians to lose the protection. A federal judge finalized the order in early August, and work permits tied to Haitian TPS expired July 27. Lafontant's group, comprising about 180 artists, designers, musicians, and residents, is marching in the parade for the second year.
Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway will buzz with steel drums and flag-draped floats on Monday during the West Indian Day Parade. Organizers say the parade is a defiant assertion of pride amid a traumatic year. "But if you know anything about the Caribbean, especially about Haiti, we use music, dance, art, to continue to strive and push through," Lafontant said while taking stock of parade costumes at a community center.
Haitian costumes for Lespri Ayiti Mas Camp are displayed ahead of the West Indian Day Parade, Thursday, Sept. 2. The parade is a rare bright spot for the community, providing a sense of unity and pride in the face of adversity. "The parade is a defiant assertion of pride amid a traumatic year," Lafontant said.
Background
The West Indian Day Parade Carnival is an annual celebration of West Indian culture, held on or around the first Monday of September in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. It is organized by the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA).
What's confirmed
- Lafontant is part of a Haitian community that numbers roughly 163,000 in the New York metropolitan area, according to the Migration Policy Institute — the second-largest Haitian population in the U.S. after the Miami metropolitan area.
- Paul, whose coalition of Haitian women leaders and organizers is marching Monday, said conditions in Haiti are what pushed people to leave.
What's still developing
- The parade highlights Haitian history, culture and community strength.
- New York Attorney General Letitia James is facing scrutiny after opening up a legally required investigation into the police shooting of a woman who fatally stabbed Erin Piacenti, Bank of America executive and a new mother in her first week back to work from maternity leave, in Times Square.