Brooklyn's
African American and
Caribbean communities are spread throughout much of Brooklyn. Brooklyn's
West Indian community is concentrated in the Crown Heights, Flatbush,
East Flatbush, Kensington, and Canarsie neighborhoods in central Brooklyn. Brooklyn is home to the largest community of West Indians outside of the Caribbean. Although the largest West Indian groups in Brooklyn are
Jamaicans,
Guyanese and
Haitians, there are
West Indian immigrants from nearly every part of the Caribbean. Crown Heights and Flatbush are home to many of Brooklyn's West Indian restaurants and bakeries. Brooklyn has an annual, celebrated Carnival in the tradition of pre-Lenten celebrations in the islands. Started by natives of
Trinidad and Tobago, the
West Indian Labor Day Parade takes place every Labor Day on
Eastern Parkway. The
Brooklyn Academy of Music also holds the
DanceAfrica festival in late May, featuring street vendors and dance performances showcasing food and culture from all parts of Africa. Since the opening of the
IND Fulton Street Line in 1936,
Bedford-Stuyvesant has been home to one of the most famous African American communities in the United States. Working-class communities remain prevalent in
Brownsville,
East New York and
Coney Island, while remnants of similar communities in
Prospect Heights,
Fort Greene and
Clinton Hill have endured amid widespread gentrification.
