Watching the Kentucky Derby in Harlem: ‘It’s about African American history’
BY TERESA GENARO | THE GUARDIAN
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[dropcap]The[/dropcap] mint juleps were flowing, and the music, supplied by a jazz trio tucked into the dining room, was southern and sweet. Women in elaborately designed hats and men in snappy fedoras selected from a menu in which bourbon played a featured role, their Derby-best attire not deterring them from digging into the ribs that streamed from the kitchen on trays held high about the servers’ heads.
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Louisville? Lexington?
Nope. Harlem.
On the afternoon of 7 May, a multiracial crowd packed New Harlem Besame to watch the 142nd Kentucky Derby, to celebrate Harlem style, fashion, and food, and to honor the African Americans who played such a prominent role in the early history of the race, only to all but disappear from the sport at the start of the 20th century.
On the afternoon of 7 May, a multiracial crowd packed New Harlem Besame to watch the 142nd Kentucky Derby, to celebrate Harlem style, fashion, and food, and to honor the African Americans who played such a prominent role in the early history of the race, only to all but disappear from the sport at the start of the 20th century.
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KENTUCKY DERBY
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival.
The race is known in the United States as “The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports” or “The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports” for its approximate duration, and is also called “The Run for the Roses” for the blanket of roses draped over the winner. It is the first leg of the American Triple Crown and is followed by the Preakness Stakes, then the Belmont Stakes. WIKIPEDIA[/one_third_last]
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