Live Interview With Palmer Lampkin & Jesse Lampkin-West Indian Parade Founders

In the 1920s, immigrants from Trinidad and other Caribbean islands with a carnival tradition began celebrating Carnival in private spaces in Harlem. These celebrations took place during the traditional pre-Lenten period. In the mid-1940s, Trinidadian Jesse and Brother Palmer Lampkin other family members and friends organized a street festival held on Labor Day, on 7th Avenue in Harlem. The parade permit for Harlem was revoked in 1964 following a disturbance. Five years later, a committee headed by Carlos Lezama obtained permission to parade on Eastern Parkway. That committee became the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association, now a well-established organization. Lezama headed the organization through many years of growth, retiring at the age of 78 in 2001. His daughter, Yolanda Lezama-Clark, was subsequently elected President.

Events are held every year from the Thursday before Labor Day through the weekend, culminating in the parade on Labor Day itself. The parade now proceeds from Utica Avenue along Eastern Parkway to Grand Army Plaza. Highlights include a steel band competition, a Dimanche Gras (Fat Sunday) extravaganza and a special Kiddie Carnival which runs from President Street to the grounds of the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

We will discuss what has happened since the original founders first thought of the having this event and the subsequent negative changes that have taken place..such as the recent shootings and injuries that seem to be acepted as part of this yearly ritual.