Harlem Week Celebration

Jul 31 – Aug. 29, 2004

Aaron Davis Auditorium

Harlem Day, a celebration and reminder of the culture, history and magic of the music that Harlem has had for decades, is the result of a collaborative effort between Harlem Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Lloyd Williams and a dedicated group of

Harlemites that include artists, teachers and activists who decided to take matters into their own hands regarding a negative self image that Harlem had acquired due to a severe lack of funding from the City, State and Federal Governments. Harlem Day was created under the leadership of Percy E. Sutton, 1974’s Manhattan Borough President, and Congressman Charles Rangel. Harlem Day was so impacting that it was eventually extended to an entire week, Harlem Week. It now lasts over a month. Harlem Week has, over the decades, become one of America’s biggest, most celebrated and most significant cultural celebrations, with visitors coming from all over to the world’s most famous black and Hispanic neighborhood. There are yet even more visitors who have been attracted as a result of media coverage.Over the past decade, Harlem Week has inspired other arts, cultural and neighborhood celebrations all over the planet. Out of Harlem Week were two other major New York events spawned, the Harlem Jazz and Music Festival, and the National Black Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame.On August 8th, the “Great Day in Harlem” celebration was launched at Ulysses S. Grant National Memorial Park, at 125th Street and Riverside Drive.There was a great music festival, called “Uptown Saturday Night” which everyone was invited to on the 14th and 15fth of August. There, as far as the eye could see, cultural crafts, exotic foods, and live entertainment from a variety of stages along 135th Street. The Children’s Festival was also a great attraction for the kids. It included petting zoos, story telling and interactive arts. There were even back to school fashions that were modeled by some of tomorrow’s leaders, eg. Parade of Queens,” (starring Hal Jackson’s Talented Teen Winners), from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.The entertainment continued on Sunday, August 15th, the official day of Harlem Day. There was also the 14th Annual Upper Manhattan Auto Show, which featured every type of car from antiques to next year’s models. There was also the National Black College Fair and Expo, featuring the different options that families have for college and college tuition.

There was a great celebration on August 25th, as the National Black Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame got underway, with music of the legendary jazz greats, including Ray Charles, Arthur Mitchell, Ben E. King, Teddy Pendergrass, Nat King Cole, Alvin Ailey, Carmen McRae, Cab Calloway, Oscar Robertson, Pele, Billie Jean King, Walter Payton, Gus Johnson, and many, many more, was played with nostalgic overtones. This was a great series of events. Everyone had a fabulous time. Anyone who is interestd in more information about Harlem Week may visit the official website http://www.harlemdiscover.com.

The African American and Caribbean Section is headed by assistant editor Annette Johnson, and Liberty News Online Staff Writers contributing articles. It will cover articles about the African American and Caribbean communities throughout the U.S.A. For more information, feel free to email us at lncarib@hadofnyc.org. If you are interested in having us cover one of your events, feel free to notify us one week in advance, so we can add you to our master calendar, and have our Liberty News Staff come and write an article about your event. Feel free to email us at lnevents@hadofnyc.org, or telephone us at (718) 507-7616 between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm, and ask to speak to Annette or Steve