Grand Passage in Harlem

Grand Passage in Harlem

Going out in style: the funeral procession of Dr. Barbara Ann Teer on July 28, 2008

Crowds, Mourners, Drummers and Dancers at 125th St. Procession for Dr. Barbara Ann Teer
Photo: Courtesy Harlem One Stop

Dr. Barbara Ann Teer founded the National Black Theatre in 1968 and nurtured a generation of playwrights, directors and actors. Such notables as Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez and Maya Angelou have appeared on its stage. A solemn procession drummed its way from the National Black Theatre’s home on Fifth Ave. along 125^th Street to the Riverside Church which could not even hold the crowd. A release of doves, music by Roberta Flack, tributes from black statesmen, theatre royalty and pioneers of the Black Arts Movement, and a grand finale of fireworks from a barge in the Hudson River after dinner.

Owens Funeral Home supplied a horse-drawn caisson which followed the forty African drummers. Mr. Isaiah Owens is the sort of person to appreciate the need for elaborate staging: indeed, he is a funeral director, akin to a stage director. 

Procession planned by Owens Funeral Home
Photo: Courtesy Harlem One Stop

Every detail was planned in grand style: the flowers atop the caisson, doves ready to fly when the crowd reached the peak, permits in place to close down traffic on the commercial corridor of 125th St.

Harlem knew how to send off its beloved figures in style in the Jazz Age, and the tradition continues in the hands of local funeral directors. Like Mr. Owens, they attract big crowds to rites of passage that fit neighborhood tastes for fancy dress and fully orchestrated spectacles.

                                                --Kathleen Hulser

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