In a city of neighborhoods, the Bronx has always been a place of new beginnings. African families who have chosen it as their new home are no different than other immigrants before them.
To celebrate the African heritage and traditions, with the hope to spread joy and attract opportunity, the fourth-annual African United Day Parade and Festival will be held July 18 at Claremont Park.
The event is organized by the African People Alliance, an umbrella organization of 22 African countries, established in 2006 to bring unity, services and a voice to the African diaspora.
“Our community is growing, but with no foundation, no focus,” said Djounedou Titikpina, president and founder of the Alliance, who arrived in the Bronx in 1999.
Because they work long hours — sometimes at multiple jobs, which help them provide for families here and back home, and have to deal with the legal hurdles of — immigration, some feel drained and alone, he said.
“They don’t live, they survive,” Titikpina said with concern and sadness. Africans are very talented, hard working and family-oriented people, he added, but when it comes to breaking out of their condition and surroundings “they can be very shy.”
The parade ties them together and brings awareness to their culture, values and traditions. The event will feature African music, food and art for all ages, as well as a fashion show, dance performance, poetry and spoken word presentations.
“It’s a day of rejoicing,” said Titikpina, “when our people can share pride in their heritage and reconnect with their identity.”
His hope for this year’s parade is that more American families will reach out to their African counterparts.
“If they cross that bridge, [Americans] will be amazed. They will make friends that they will never regret!”
African newcomers, mostly hailing from the western region of the continent, reached a head count of 38,555 of all Bronx foreign-born, as per population estimates from the 2006-08 American Community Survey. This is a significant jump from 25,747 in 2000, according to data from the Bronx Data Center at Lehman College.
Like any other emerging group in this country’s history, making the transition in America can be a daunting task.
“What they need most, is peace of mind,” Titikpina said.
A native of Togo, where he operated a cultural exchange program with Canada, Titikpina ran a garment designer business — a trade he continues in the Bronx — and helped introduce programs to support family planning and literacy. Titikpina knows the hardship of growing new roots. Giving a hand to another is high on his list of putting people on the path of developing productive, vibrant lives.
“[Families] go to work, to school, send money back home, but they feel isolated,” he said.
Thus, after gaining recognition in 2006 for advocating immigration reform on behalf of the African community, he decided to create a strong network of support designed to boost hope and foster a sense of belonging, while providing action and real services.
“We’ve helped at least 10 people get a green card,” said Titikpina with pride. His organization offers legal, health, employment and ESL assistance.
The parade is the cultural aspect of the Alliance’s outreach to the community, and a chance for all Africans to be looked at with new eyes.
“It’s a day when all New Yorkers can embrace different African countries, foods and learn about our traditions,” said Zainabu Sesay-Harrell, a native of Sierra Leon who grew up in New York, but maintains strong ties to Africa. “They can see what the African community has to offer.”
Sesay-Harrell, founder of the Sierra Leon Nurses Association, travels often to Africa with her two young children and husband, and is very proud of her cross-cultural African and American upbringing.
“There are so many [African] countries represented in the Bronx alone. All kinds of restaurants, clothing stores, cultural centers and events,” she said, emphasizing the richness of traditions and opportunities for human exchange that are worth exploring.
The African United Day Parade and Festival will be held at Claremont Park in the area between the Grand Concourse and Webster Ave., Mount Eden Ave. and 170th St., July 18 from 11 am to 8 pm. For info, email [email protected]
