The Stars of Harlem
Light Up the Night of the
34th Annual African American Day Parade

No parade with a significant black presence appears complete without the presence of drums of some sort, and so it was that at the 34^th Annual African American Day Parade along Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem, the steeldrum ‘aka’ Steelband was represented.  The parade itself features many marching bands doing fabulous drum and bugle calls and on Sunday September 21, there was a large number including many from Baltimore.

With a scheduled start of 2 PM from 111^th St. just above Central Park North, the penultimate day of summer was a beautiful one to behold.  So too were the marching bands and their costumed young men, women and children who danced, stepped and played drums, bugles, trombones and other instruments, to the delight of the thousands and thousands that thronged the entire length of the route, right up to its end at 142^nd St.

Historically black colleges, fraternities, Police/Fire departments, other military personnel, unions, media, lodges, other organizations - in fact anyone who wanted to make that ‘statement’, took to this parade route waving, smiling to the cheering onlookers.  Thousands waved their red, black and green flags in shows of solidarity.

The DC-37 Union contingent featured union members and steelband players on a float.  Emmanuel ‘Jack’ Riley was among those players on the lime green float.  Later on in the evening Harlem’s resident steelband, Harlem All Stars, made their way along the route, bringing what was to be a rousing finish to and curtain down on, the entire parade.

Thousands of the band’s supporters danced along, and simultaneously pushed the steelband racks and pans forward, while the other supporters in the front pulled the band on.  As they moved along the northbound lane of Seventh Avenue, the band’s following grew larger as it picked up supporters who joined up from the rear, despite the efforts of the NYPD (New York Police Department) to contain the crowd.  Anytime they paused briefly so that the marching band preceding them could move forward, the steelband revelers maximized on the opportunity to enjoy themselves.  Several people along the route watching the parade may not have been very familiar with steelbands, and exclamations like “Oh, those must be steel drums” and other such, could be heard.

As Harlem All Stars neared the end of the parade route the presence of the cops became more definitive, as they prepared for the surge of the steelband supporters headed their way.  The pan lovers and supporters were determined to enjoy their steelband music to the last moment, but the NYPD was prepared for them.  The cops directed the band and supporters to turn east on 142^nd St., and as the bulk of supporters turned in anticipation and danced alongside Harlem All Stars, the cops then pulled into position an orange net which effectively did what they themselves could not do without it - control the crowd.

They cordoned off the thousands of supporters who had already turned off and onto 142^nd St.  At the same time they directed Harlem All Stars to proceed straight north, deliberately and effectively cutting off the band from the bulk of their supporters, thousands of music lovers and onlookers.  Only the few who had been pulling the stands forward, dancing in front, and on the westerly side - remained with the band.  Realizing what had happened and now devoid of most of their following, Harlem All Stars sputtered to a physical and musical stop a few yards on.

Needless to say the pan lovers were irate when they realized they had been duped, and tried to follow the band, but the cops with the net stretched across and around the crowd, stood their ground.  Not so polite comments were heard from the pissed off people.  One women was extremely angry that the cops had separated as she put it “the people from the music”.

So another parade came to an end, and a great time was had by most until the very end.

©2003 Basement Recordings, Inc. All rights reserved.

At the end of the parade on 142^nd St. those following Harlem All Stars Steel Orchestra were corralled and cut off from the band...