Overview:
Brooklyn’s seventh annual Haitian Tradition Day drew crowds by the Little Caribbean and Little Haiti neighborhoods Saturday, as elected officers, volunteers and group members marched to rejoice Haitian tradition and push again towards uncertainty over the group’s immigration standing.
Beneath cloudy skies and occasional rain, a Rara band led the parade down Nostrand Avenue from Church Avenue to Flatbush Junction Saturday morning, kicking off the seventh annual Haitian Tradition Day in Brooklyn.
Twenty floats processed by the Little Caribbean and Little Haiti neighborhoods bearing flags, cannons and volunteers in vibrant feathered headdresses. Marching bands and baton twirlers strode alongside group leaders, together with New York Metropolis Council Member Rita Joseph, who represents Brooklyn’s fortieth District and chaired the occasion. Different elected officers marching included Mercedes Narcisse of the forty sixth District, Farah Louis of the forty fifth District and Rep. Yvette Clarke of the ninth Congressional District, in addition to Faiza Ali, commissioner of the Mayor’s Workplace of Immigrant Affairs. Members of the Haitian Consulate and Haiti’s ambassador to Jamaica additionally joined the procession.
Some lawmakers arrived in costume. Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, state Meeting member for the forty second District, which incorporates Brooklyn’s Little Haiti, dressed as Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haiti’s first emperor, who led the Haitian Revolution and established the nation’s independence from France in 1804.
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New York Metropolis leaders and legislators led the seventh annual Haitian Tradition Day parade in Brooklyn, Saturday, Might 9, 2026. Pictured from left to proper: Faiza Ali, Commissioner of the Mayor’s workplace of Immigrant Affairs; Councilmember Rita Joseph; Rep. Yvette Clarke; Lifetime of Hope Government Director Porez Luxama; and Councilmembers Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, Mercedes Narcisse and Farah Louis. Picture by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Instances.
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Costumed riders aboard a float on Nostrand Avenue through the seventh annual Haitian Tradition Day parade in Brooklyn, Saturday, Might 9, 2026. Picture by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Instances.
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Members of the Drums and Bugles Worldwide Bands Affiliation, Inc. march through the seventh annual Haitian Tradition Day parade in Brooklyn, Saturday, Might 9, 2026. Picture by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Instances.
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Younger riders peer above the group on a float through the seventh annual Haitian Tradition Day parade in Brooklyn, Saturday, Might 9, 2026. Picture by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Instances.
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Riders wave to the group from a Panamanian-themed float through the seventh annual Haitian Tradition Day parade in Brooklyn, Saturday, Might 9, 2026. Picture by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Instances.
For Hermelyn, this 12 months’s theme, “We Belong,” carried weight past celebration and spoke on to the present political local weather. Over the previous 12 months, Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has fluctuated, creating uncertainty for residents who fled ongoing violence. New York City has the second-largest Haitian population in the United States, in line with the World Inhabitants Evaluate. In the meantime, Haiti stays with no functioning authorities, she mentioned, and sending individuals again “to a spot of no house shall be very devastating.” She added that many Haitian immigrants have spent a long time contributing to the tax system. “To make an order to ship them away is unfair.”
Organized by the Brooklyn nonprofit Life of Hope, the occasion drew contributors from throughout town. Wendia Morse, 30, arrived at 7 a.m. from Queens to volunteer on the floats, wearing a colourful gauze robe. She moved to New York 5 years in the past whereas fleeing political turmoil in Port-au-Prince and has since earned a level in airport administration. She nonetheless needs to return in the future. “House is all the time calling my identify,” she mentioned.
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Regardless of intermittent rain, crowds gathered for stage performances on the seventh annual Haitian Tradition Day occasion in Brooklyn, Saturday, Might 9, 2026. Picture by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Instances. -
Wendia Morse poses for a portrait after taking part within the seventh annual Haitian Tradition Day parade in Brooklyn, Saturday, Might 9, 2026. Picture by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Instances.
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Lifetime of Hope volunteer Kamla Millwood dances within the rain on stage at Hillel Plaza through the seventh annual Haitian Tradition Day occasion in Brooklyn, Saturday, Might 9, 2026. Picture by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Instances. -
A costumed rider waves a Haitian flag through the seventh annual Haitian Tradition Day parade in Brooklyn, Saturday, Might 9, 2026. Picture by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Instances.
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Crowds collect earlier than Colmix Madada on stage at Hillel Plaza through the seventh annual Haitian Tradition Day occasion in Brooklyn, Saturday, Might 9, 2026. Picture by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Instances.
After the parade, revelers gathered at Hillel Place Plaza for afternoon performances, umbrellas in hand. Alongside the stage, cubicles supplied healthcare data and distributors offered meals, flags and Haitian-themed merchandise underneath tents.
Brothers Reginald and Hervé Guiteau, now of their 70s, have been a part of the Brooklyn Haitian group since their dad and mom introduced them from Port-au-Prince almost 60 years in the past. Each volunteered for the occasion. Reginald helped recruit sponsors and volunteers over the previous six months; Hervé dealt with safety and group for the parade. “It’s getting greater and larger yearly,” Reginald mentioned. “It’s a great way to get individuals collectively.”
Kamla Millwood, 51, proprietor of Palatial Publishing LLC and initially from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, marched within the parade and danced on stage. She got here out in assist of the Haitian group. “Whether or not it’s rain, snow, sleet or shine, I’m ensuring that I do my half to make my group a a lot better place,” she mentioned. “I really like that power that the Haitian individuals have.”
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Crowds collect at Hillel Plaza regardless of intermittent rain through the seventh annual Haitian Tradition Day occasion in Brooklyn, Saturday, Might 9, 2026. Picture by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Instances.
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Kamla Millwood, a volunteer for Lifetime of Hope, poses for a portrait through the Haitian Tradition Day occasion at Hillel Plaza in Brooklyn, Saturday, Might 9, 2026. Picture by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Instances.
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Crowds collect earlier than stage performers at Hillel Plaza regardless of intermittent rain through the seventh annual Haitian Tradition Day occasion in Brooklyn, Saturday, Might 9, 2026. Picture by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Instances.
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Hervé Guiteau, volunteer for Lifetime of Hope, poses for a portrait through the Haitian Tradition Day occasion at Hillel Plaza in Brooklyn, Saturday, Might 9, 2026. Picture by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Instances.
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Road distributors show Haitian-themed items on the seventh annual Haitian Tradition Day occasion in Brooklyn, Saturday, Might 9, 2026. Picture by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Instances.
Ben Jean, a faculty bus driver who has lived in Brooklyn for almost 30 years, known as the day “peaceable.” For him, the occasion was about connecting along with his roots. “It’s about tradition. It’s about your music. It’s about your background,” he mentioned. Nevertheless it additionally introduced up tougher emotions in regards to the state of affairs in Haiti. “It’s a nasty time for us,” Jean mentioned. “We are able to’t even return house with the state of affairs proper now.” He mentioned he worries most about youthful generations. “The youngsters want a greater world, a greater Haiti.”
Porez Luxama, government director of Lifetime of Hope, mentioned the occasion has drawn greater than 10,000 individuals in previous years. This 12 months, the variety of floats grew from seven to twenty, together with one that includes Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and one that includes Council member Rita Joseph, and Luxama estimated about 2,000 contributors turned out regardless of the climate.
His message to New York Metropolis was easy: “We’re right here. We belong right here. We’re not going anyplace.”