Cultural Roots and Champions Celebrated

Middle Passage Photo: Christopher Griffith

Far left: Ethnology museum director Erol Josué, photographed by Tequila Minsky for The Haitian Times, traveled from Haiti to attend the “Mother of Freedom” Haitian Heritage Parade in Manhattan, Saturday, June 3, 2023. Center: Sunday, June 11, this flag-draped high school graduate, photographed by Bernice Elizabeth Green for OTP, was spotted at the supermarket on Lafayette & Grand, just before he joined the annual National Puerto Rican Parade, New York’s largest celebration of his heritage. Brother Menes De Griot speaks on the history of the Middle Passage at the Annual Tribute to Ancestors of the Middle Passage, commemorating that period of time when Africans were kidnapped and transported to the United States to be sold. The event is held each year at Ancestors’ Circle, 17th Street and the Coney Island Boardwalk.