Elev8's Shenequa Golding contemplates what's to blame for her cluelessness about an event focused on the African-American experience.
The 43rd Annual African-American Day Parade was held this past Sunday in Harlem and I along with several of my well educated, culturally savvy African-American co-workers had no idea there was a parade in honor of African-Americans, or that it had been going on for 43 years …
As vibrant and exciting as New York City is, it's also a hodgepodge for every and any cultural background to come, reside and gain their part of the American dream. But while New York's culture has become everyone's culture, some believe Black culture in New York isn't as strong as West Indian culture or Puerto Rican culture, which draws throngs of people every year for their parade and is highly publicized. Or is it?
This parade has been in existence for more than 40 years and we didn't know about it.But the question is why? It's not because we're not "black enough" we represent a healthy and vibrant mix of opinions, ideals, and thoughts.
Maybe us choosing not to know is the reason. I could've easily done a Google search for last minute free summer activities to partake in and learned all about it. However, I like my other co-workers were well aware of the season premiere of HBO's Boardwalk Empire. (Grimaces)
Read Shenequa Golding's entire piece at Elev8.
The Root aims to foster and advance conversations about issues relevant to the black Diaspora by presenting a variety of opinions from all perspectives, whether or not those opinions are shared by our editorial staff.