Caribbean Heritage celebrated in New York West Indian Day Parade

Started in the 1920s by staging costume parties, it is one of the largest celebrations of Caribbean culture in the US (Photo:AP)

Dancers in costume perform during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 4, 2017, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. One man was shot, one was stabbed and a cop was bitten at New York's West Indian Day Parade on Labor Day, officials say. (Photo:AP)

The earliest known Carnival street parade was held on September 1, 1947. The Trinidad Carnival Pageant Committee was the founding force behind the parade, which was held in Harlem. The parade route was along Seventh Avenue, starting at 110th St. (Photo: AP)

A costumed dancer sporting blue feathers performs during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday. The event, which has been overshadowed by instances of violence in the past, went down on Labor Day (Sept. 4), with hundreds of people from Antigua, U.S. Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Grenada and other islands enjoying themselves on Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway. (Photo:AP)

Dancers on stilts perform during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday. Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife Chirlane McCray helped lead the parade with Rev. Al Sharpton and Gov. Andrew Cuomo also taking part. (Photo: AP)

Vendors grill chicken during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday. (Photo: AP)

A member of the J'ouvert masquerade group Pagwah performs during the West Indian Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 4, 2017, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Photo:AP)

A costumed dancer is seen at the Caribbean Day Parade in Brooklyn, New York, on Monday, September 4, 2017. Streets were filled with people wearing colorful costumes and waving flags to celebrate their Caribbean heritage. The parade featured music, bands, masqueraders, moko jumbies, floats and Caribbean cuisine. (Photo:AP)