New York’s Black elected officials were on hand at the 56th Annual African American Day Parade (AADP) Breakfast this past Sunday to honor the late Dr. Hazel N. “Ma” Dukes and the chosen recipients of her Lifting As She Climbs legacy award.
The AADP Breakfast Committee, headed by President Deneane Brown Blackmon, has organized a more intimate awards celebration ahead of the annual parade’s spectacle for the last 25 years. Electeds and community leaders get a chance to socialize over food and the joy of seeing familiar faces with hugs abound.
“Dr. Dukes was not just a civil rights icon. She was a mentor, a connector, a truth teller, and a visionary,” said Blackmon. “She poured herself into the people she loved, and she loved deeply. I was one of those people she mentored and supported. She called me her friend and her daughter, and that bond changed my life forever.”
“This community in Harlem has taken quite a hit. Hazel Dukes, certainly, but we lost our Congressman Charles Rangel. We lost Lloyd Williams, who ran our Harlem Week for many, many years,” said AADP Breakfast Committee Chair and Co-Founder Keith L. T. Wright. He was presented a proclamation from New York Secretary of State Walter Mosley for years of outstanding community service at the event.
The breakfast ceremony was held at the awe-inspiring Harlem Parish on West 118th Street.
Ariama C. Long photos
New York State National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Conference President L. Joy Williams was among 12 honorees at the AADP Breakfast on Sept. 21. 
AADP Breakfast Committee Chair and Co-Founder Keith L. T. Wright at the mic. 
From left to right: Dr. Thelma Boozer Baxter, NYS Governor’s Chief of Staff Stacy Renae Lynch, former NYC First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Mid-Manhattan Branch President Kyndell Ann Reid, mental health leader Mary D. Redd, and Dr. Ilyasah Shabazz. Credit: Ariama C. Long photo 
The 56th Annual African American Day Parade (AADP) Breakfast was held at the Harlem Parish in Harlem on Sept. 21. 
Outside of the Harlem Parish church on West 118th Street in Harlem on Sunday, Sep 21, 2025.
A host of elected leaders attended, ranging from New York State Attorney General Letitia James to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Numerous State Assembly members and City Council members, along with Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, were also present. Civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton was also in attendance and gave closing remarks. Mayor Eric Adams did not attend the AADP breakfast or parade this year.
James has successfully brought a civil fraud case and multiple lawsuits against President Donald Trump over the years. Recently, Trump targeted James in a social media post, directing U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and his newly nominated U.S Attorney of the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan, who is a former White House aide with no prosecutor experience, to find charges for a criminal case against her.
“This too shall pass,” said James, about the current political climate as she addressed the packed church.
Several prominent women leaders in various fields received the Lifting As She Climbs legacy award. They include: Dr. Thelma Boozer Baxter, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA) CEO Jennifer Jones Austin, NYS Governor’s Chief of Staff Stacy Renae Lynch, National Urban League’s Jerika L. Richardson, communications leader Rachel Noerdlinger, mental health leader Mary D. Redd; Dr. Ilyasah Shabazz, board member of The Shabazz Center; former NYC First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, NAACP Mid-Manhattan Branch President Kyndell Ann Reid, Choose Healthy Life Founder and Board Chair Debra Fraser-Howze, 99 Solutions Founder & CEO Jacquelyn A. Williams, and New York State NAACP Conference President L. Joy Williams.
Many of the recipients shared their fond memories of Dukes, and their intent to support the Black and Brown community in times of crisis.
“We have to remind people, ‘who we are.’ We have built this country from Wall Street to the White House. We are resilient people, and there is nothing we can’t overcome,” said Richardson.
“If you are a child of Ma Dukes, it should show by your deeds,” said Williams.
Democratic nominee and mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who walked in the AAD parade on Sunday afternoon, lamented that he had not gotten a chance to meet Dukes in person but was proud to march in the parade and honor her legacy.
“I know that when I speak about a vision of New York City that is just, that is affordable, that reflects the values of the city, it builds on the work of so many that came before me,” said Mamdani, speaking about the adverse effects of gentrification and the affordability crisis on Harlem’s historically Black community. “This parade is a celebration of Black excellence. It’s a celebration of the village of Harlem. And, it comes upon us as a responsibility to ensure that those are not just the achievements of the past, but that we continue them.”