Honor Caribbean Carnival Parade

Senate Resolution No. 2463 BY: Senator PARKER COMMENDING the West Indian American Day Carnival Association upon the occasion of celebrating its Annual Church Service and Parade on January 12, 2020 WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body, in keeping with its time-honored traditions, to recognize and pay tribute to those organizations which foster ethnic pride and enhance the profile of cultural diversity which strengthens the fabric of the communities of New York State; and WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to commend the West Indian American Day Carnival Association upon the occasion of its Annual Church Service and Parade Day to be celebrated with a week-long display of festivities beginning on Sunday, January 12, 2020; and WHEREAS, To promote, develop and celebrate Caribbean culture, arts, history and traditions through year-round programs which culminate with a week-long display of festivities and a grand finale, Carnival parade helps to expand culture throughout the State of New York; and WHEREAS, The West Indian American Day Carnival and Parade is the centerpiece of the Carnival with its extraordinary colorful parade consisting of many vibrant floats, exquisite costumes, a cacophony of music, Caribbean entertainment stars, and various food vendors selling West Indian delicacies; and WHEREAS, Jessie Wardell and her West Indian friends began the Carnival in Harlem in the 1930s, staging costume parties in large enclosed places, such as the Savoy, Renaissance, and Audubon Ballrooms due to the cold wintry weather of February; this is the usual time for the pre-Lenten celebrations held in most countries around the world; and WHEREAS, The earliest known Carnival street activity was held during the 1940s, when Jessie Wardell secured the first street permit for a parade on the streets of Harlem; during the 1960s, another Trinidadian, Rufus Goring, brought Carnival to Brooklyn, New York; and WHEREAS, In 1967, Rufus Goring passed the reigns over to Carlos Lezama, who became President of WIADCA and who nurtured the organization and Carnival celebrations until 2001; his daughter, Yolanda Lezama-Clark, served as President until 2011 when Thomas Bailey was elected President in 2012; and WHEREAS, Since the mid 1990s, the New York Caribbean Carnival Parade has grown steadily over the years from thousands of participants and tourists to over one million people in attendance; the influx of tourists from all over the world has benefited New York City on an economic level, most recognizably with large corporations, small businesses and the tourist/service industries; and WHEREAS, It is the intent of this Legislative Body to recognize and commend cultural events which symbolize the historical, social and cultural development of this great State and embody the spirit of the principles upon which this Nation was founded; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to commend the West Indian American Day Carnival Association upon the occasion of its Annual Church Service and Parade to be celebrated on