Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway was awash with steel drums, bright flags and the scent of jerk chicken on Monday as the West Indian Day Parade drew hundreds of thousands of spectators. For the city’s Haitian community, the celebration carried a heavier weight this year.
TPS ends, community rallies
In June, the Supreme Court ruled 6‑3 in Mullin v. Doe that federal courts could not review the Trump administration’s decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian and Syrian immigrants. A federal judge finalized the order in early August, and work permits tied to Haitian TPS expired on July 27, leaving roughly 350,000 Haitians without the legal protection that had allowed them to remain in the United States.
“There’s a somber cloud over it with everything that has happened from last year to this year with TPS … what’s happening in detention centers, and those who are being sent back with no valid way of living or supporting themselves,” said Natalie Lafontant, a Brooklyn native who organizes Lespri Ayiti, the largest Haitian marching group in the parade.
Parade as a defiant act of pride
Despite the loss of TPS, Lafontant’s group of about 180 artists, designers, musicians and residents is marching for the second year. The organization struggled to secure float sponsors, but “we continue to do it because we love our country,” she said, emphasizing the community’s commitment to America.
The Haitian population in the New York metropolitan area numbers roughly 163,000, the second‑largest Haitian diaspora in the nation after Miami. Most live in Brooklyn neighborhoods such as Flatbush, East Flatbush and Crown Heights, where generations have built churches, businesses and schools.
Historical roots of resilience
Haitian migration to New York began in the 1970s under the repressive regime of Jean‑Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier and continued after his ouster in 1986. The community draws strength from the Haitian Revolution, the only successful slave revolt in modern history, which secured independence in 1804.
Edwina Paul, founder of the women’s coalition SPM (“Fanm Se Poto Mitan” – “Women Are the Pillar of Society”), recalled fleeing Haiti in 1993 to escape gang violence. “It’s not safe there. Coming here is like an umbrella for us to be safe from that,” she said. “We don’t come here to sin, we don’t come here to kill. We come here to work, to have a better education.”
Costumes, music and cultural pride
Designers for the parade honored Haitian heroes, creating royal‑blue robes inspired by Jean‑Jacques Dessalines and garments bearing the faces of national football legends Duckens Nazon and Emmanuel Sanon. One orange “Freedom” T‑shirt displayed flags of nations that Haitian revolutionaries helped liberate, including Venezuela, Colombia and Greece.
The musical lineup, coordinated by Lespri Ayiti’s band manager Jesus Luc, featured the popular genre Raboday and Kompa, Haiti’s signature dance music. DJ Comix of the band Team Madada, described by Luc as “probably the most popular group in Haiti,” headlined the performance.
Looking ahead
While the Trump administration’s termination of TPS was upheld by the courts, the Haitian community’s response underscores a steadfast belief in American opportunity and a refusal to be silenced. The parade not only celebrates Caribbean culture but also serves as a rallying cry for a community determined to thrive despite federal policy setbacks.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
