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
January 12, 2020; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the West Indian American Day Carnival Association.