New Yorkers lining Eastern Parkway to watch Brooklyn\u2019s annual West Indian American Day Parade on Monday showed pride by wrapping themselves in their countries\u2019 flags and donning the national colors on bandannas, bikinis, hats and other attire.<\/p>\n
Fatima Abney wore a matching skirt and visor with the blue and red colors of Belize\u2019s flag, along with a shirt that read \u201c100% Belizean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom head to toe, we got to represent,\u201d said Abney, 42.<\/p>\n
She attended with her aunt, who wore a Belize shirt, armband and bag, and also waved a Belizean flag for good measure.<\/p>\n
Abney said she was there for \u201cthe costumes, the music and being around everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lamont Joseph, the artistic director of the Brooklyn-based Bloodline Dance Theatre, wore one of the parade\u2019s most eye-catching costumes: He marched as an extra tall, pink and floral version of LGBTQ+ activist Marsha P. Johnson.<\/p>\n
\u201cI make sure to celebrate both traditions: New York City Pride and New York City Labor Day,\u201d Joseph said, when asked why he chose that costume. \u201cI\u2019m a Caribbean, gay African American who loves both cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vendors along Eastern Parkway sold jerk chicken and other Caribbean cuisine, along with fresh juices, ice cream and nutcrackers.<\/p>\n
About an hour after the parade stepped off at 11 a.m., some attendees were starting to dance to the soca, dancehall and reggae blasting from the floats going by. One float carried Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who danced and waved, eliciting excited shouts from the crowd.<\/p>\n
But Abney said it still seemed calm compared to years past. \u201cI hope it turns up a little bit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In recent years, some West Indian Day celebrations have been marred by violence, including last year, when six people were shot<\/a> near the parade route.<\/p>\n