To know me (Shari Jones), is to know in my youth Labor Day was my Christmas. Being Caribbean American, as I introduce myself at Community Legacy Project (CLP) events, I always remember the parade as a time of PURE CELEBRATION and JOY! And while violence has infiltrated the NY Carnival festivities, it never infected the community mood of UNITY! Having multiple Caribbean heritage links, it was a full circle moment to return to the parade area with ASNEAA.
This year, I have been letting my first-generation, Yankee doodle flag fly with ASNEAA CLP x America 250th Anniversary pop-up activations @ Fort Greene Park (FGP), Commodore Barry Park (CBP), Brooklyn Museum First Saturdays, Brooklyn Bridge Park (BBP), Prospect Park Alliance (PPA) / Reimagine Lefferts and Union Square Park (USP) / Open Streets. The experience provided ASNEAA with a record-breaking programmng year and therefore way more community reflection opportunities. After the most recent CLP x America 250th Anniversary @ USP / Open Streets, I started to discuss the “mixed kid” phenomena of never feeling whole or belonging to any one community.
Hence, the other CLP offerings this year: Dance Africa, International African Arts Festival (IAAF), Summerfest, Hip-Hop Celebration Day and Harlem Week (not officially a part of the ASNEAA America 250th Anniversary commemorations). As the nation grapples with nationalism and racial identity politics, ASNEAA has moved forward in the adaptation of the diversity, equity, inclusion, and safety (DEIS) lens and is considering adding -or outright replacing inclusion with- intersectionality (to be determined).
My current read helps to clarify that while ASNEAA is not a Black nationalist organization, it is also not an agent of White state power in the Jim Crown north (or anywhere on Earth given the global lens). As the move to colonization of other planets takes off, it seems white supremacy is losing ground (literally and figuratively) for places to project hate / control for power’s sake.
Labor Day was always my favorite holiday as a kid because locally in NYC, it lifted Caribbean culture and generally celebrated the WORKING CLASS! As a first-generation American; it felt like my own personal Juneteenth. My bi-cultural identity not only felt WHOLE, but also was a source of community with people of ALL BACKGROUNDS FROM AROUND THE WORLD! All those years of compartmentalizing (not codeswitching) wasn’t a burden, it was a superpower! Like one of the CLP quotes from Maya Lin, “To me, the American Dream is being able to follow your own personal calling. To be able to do what you want to do is incredible freedom.”
And now returning to the NY Carnival scene with the “business of social justice”, it was a dream come true for little and adult Shari! Though ASNEAA couldn’t afford to vendor at the official WIADCA parade on Eastern Parkway this year, the plan is to get the organization’s capacity up to service more participants at CLP events. I set up for CLP x Labor Day 2026 right next to the parade activities at the Bailey Fountain. And the Caribbean massive / African Diaspora was on the move, but made time to check in with ASNEAA! CLP x Labor Day 2026 participants were invited to share their name + BIPOC heritage and explore the ASNEAA website:
s/o to the CLP x Labor Day participants that also shared BIPOC heritage tags (Peru, Kenya, DRC, and Guinea SOON TO BE ON THE MAP!) With the proof of concept from this programming year, the goal is to develop the ASNEAA global mapping technology to become user-generated. The first day of school in NYC also starts this week, so my “mom”trepeur life is real and picking up.
ALL THE BEST to all the students this academic year, remember all social justice activists are life-long learners! here’s to a “multidimensional praxis” (online + in-person) with respect, loyalty, compassion, gratitude, and trust. Stay tuned for more CLP events in service to people of ALL AGES and BACKGROUNDS:
Thank you to the CLP x Labor Day 2026 host, participants and donors:
