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NYC's first Jamaica Day Parade steps off in Brooklyn Saturday
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
Sean Carlson
Published Aug 8, 2026
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Ross MacDonald - SNS Group / Contributor / Getty Images
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
Sean Carlson
Published Aug 8, 2026
Share
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The city’s first-ever Jamaica Day Parade is coming to Brooklyn this Saturday morning,
The parade steps off at 11 a.m. from Church and Ocean avenues in Flatbush, and will continue north along Ocean Avenue until Lincoln Road near Empire Boulevard.
Organizers say the streets will be filled with reggae music, dancing and traditional Jamaican food. DJ Danglez, a Brooklyn native of Jamaican descent known for his reggae, dancehall, soca and R&B music, will be the “star DJ of the parade.”
This parade comes as Jamaica celebrates its 64th anniversary of independence.
Jamaica Rising Day Parade founder and chair Bill Tinglin recently discussed what inspired the parade with “All Things Considered" host Sean Carlson.
A lightly edited transcript of their conversation is below.
Sean Carlson: Tell us what led you to initiate the first-ever Jamaican parade this year?
Bill Tinglin: I went to the Israeli parade in Manhattan, and I'm very much affiliated with the Holocaust initiative. And I asked myself: How come we don't have a Jamaican Day parade and Jamaica has such a strong brand? Its food, its athletes, its culture, its music, just a very strong brand. And when I got back, I discussed it with a few people, and we were able to establish the Jamaican Rising Day Parade.
Why do you think it took so long to have a parade specifically dedicated to Jamaica?
That is a good question. I am not exactly sure. But the great writer says that everything rises and falls on leadership and creativity is a faculty of the soul. So, that level of creativity came into my mind, and we're able to put the right people at the right time together.
For someone who isn't familiar with Jamaican culture, what can people expect from the parade?
Oh, the dancing, the food, the patties, the coco bread, the chicken, the rice, the juices. It's all going to be there, and goes along with the dancing, and the flow of the crowd. And just to be there to say, "Yes, Jamaica is raising its flag, and here we are, the first of its kind in the United States, and let's just enjoy the joy."
How does the music differ from, say, American pop music?
Reggae music is synchronized with the heart. It goes one-two, one-two. It goes fast and it goes slow, but it's a synchronization mode and model and beat that goes with the heart. Even if you're not a musician and you hear Jamaican music, you're gonna rock to it. It's poetic words that just speak to you. And much of reggae music is also biblical. Like Bob Marley is a good example of how peace and love works in music.
Why did you choose this specific route on Flatbush?
So you have Church Avenue, and Church Avenue is now Bob Marley Way. Bob Marley, the fitting Jamaican, fits the perimeter, the march, the music, the course in which we should move.
Talk more about the history of the Jamaican diaspora in New York City, and how Flatbush became one of the neighborhoods that many people from the island came to live in.
New York is one of the first of many places that Jamaicans came to live in, particularly from the Garveyites. The Marcus Garvey session, in which he, another Jamaican, was able to unite Jamaicans and African Americans, and the Pan-Africanism system led by a Jamaican, Marcus Garvey. So many people flocked — Jamaicans — to New York to become Garveyites.
Tell us more about Marcus Garvey and what his legacy is.
He was a person that really believed Black Africans, wherever you are internationally, as an African, you can do the best, you can excel, you can accomplish. Marcus Garvey believed in the essence that Africans from Africa, being the first people of the world, we are able to love, create peace, economic development, and at the same time share what we have with others.
The West Indian Day Parade happens every year in September in the area. It celebrates Caribbean culture and heritage, including Jamaican heritage. So what makes this Saturday's Jamaica parade unique from other parades, like the West Indian Day Parade?
That is a good question. We have the Panamanian parade. We have the Guyanese parade, Puerto Rican parade, Dominican parade. So all these different independent countries have their own parade. So it behooves us as Jamaicans, because our brand is so rich, to bring in our own parade. It is not necessarily a separate independent gesture from the world. No. It is a celebration of the flag. There's a Jamaican word, it says, "Wi likkle but wi tallawah.” In other words, we're a small number of people, but we are able to create a lasting impact.
Tagged
Race And Justice Unit
brooklyn
events
festivals
parks
Elizabeth Shwe
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Sean Carlson
Before coming to New York Public Radio, Sean worked in print, online and radio news around the mid-Atlantic region and Alaska. A New Jersey native, he holds a B.A. from the New School University in Greenwich Village and an M.A. from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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