One year after the mass shooting, the Caribbean Carnival is taking place again in Boston: “I always feel safe”

Boston's Caribbean community danced and sang through the streets of Roxbury and Dorchester in colorful, exquisite costumes of crowns, feathers, masks and rhinestones, while a heavy police presence monitored the celebration.

“I always feel safe,” Montserrat native Jadine Greenaway told the Herald on Saturday afternoon as she prepared for the city's annual Caribbean Parade. “The Boston police officers are doing a wonderful job, they're here smiling like they're confident. Boston EMS is here. Everyone is here to make sure we have a wonderful day.”

“Boston is my second home,” said Greenaway. “Why shouldn't I feel safe here?”

Last year's Caribbean Carnival was marred by a mass shooting that left eight people injured, raising concerns and calls for an increased police presence to ensure the safety of all participants, spectators and the population at large.

Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox responded to these concerns by changing the route of the morning J'ouvert parade, where the shooting took place last year, and promising strong action and support from state police.

The J'ouvert parade, which began at 6 a.m. and took place entirely on Circuit Drive in Franklin Park, went smoothly, said Shirley Shillingford, president of the Boston Caribbean Carnival for 34 years.

“It's started well so far and we hope it continues like this,” Shillingford, a Jamaican native, told the Herald. “All the police officers have been wonderful. We couldn't have asked for anything better from them.”

Boston police arrested at least 15 people during the celebrations and seized about nine firearms, Sergeant Det. John Boyle told the Herald Saturday night.

Addressing problems that have arisen during Caribbean Carnival celebrations in recent years, Cox said Friday there would be “zero tolerance for any kind of violence.”

The Carnival festivities are considered “family friendly,” he said, meaning no weapons, including licensed firearms, are allowed. Cox also urged residents to call police and report any neighbors hosting late-night parties, which the commissioner said has caused problems in recent years.

Greenaway, 46, has been attending Carnival since she was 16, after immigrating from Montserrat at age 8. This year she helped design costumes for the Boston Socaholics, a band whose music she described as “West Indies R&B.”

“It's my ability and our ability as a Caribbean people,” said Greenaway, wearing rhinestones and a purple and gold costume, “to showcase our artistry, to showcase our culture, our music and to really show how much spirit we have, how free we are, how we embrace life as it is and that we take time to really enjoy life.”

Last Sunday evening, five people were shot in Franklin Park. Cox called the incident a “heinous act” that marred the end of the Dominican festival. Police said all injuries were not life-threatening.

Tito Jackson, a former city councilman for Roxbury and Dorchester who was named grand marshal of this year's Caribbean Carnival, pointed out that the BPD told him the city had had “its safest year yet.”

“We will not allow one person or one incident to cast a shadow on the wonderful people, on the wonderful community,” Jackson told the Herald, adding that he looked forward to eating jerk chicken during the day's festivities. “We will not allow any news channel to say who and what we are. We know we are this city, we make this city, we work hard every day to live here.”

City Councilor Ed Flynn had sent a letter to the police chief in the days leading up to Carnival urging Cox to “request police assistance from neighboring cities and towns for this weekend as many events are taking place throughout the city, including the Caribbean Parade.”

“Everything is going well,” Flynn told the Herald as he arrived on Martin Luther King Boulevard before the main parade began in the afternoon. “It's about working together and respecting each other. That's a critical part of it.”

U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts, 7th District) called the Caribbean Carnival the “perfect culmination” of her trip after she just returned from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

“We have to remember that this is an incredible contribution to our economy and makes this place a destination,” she told reporters. “It's a family-friendly event, a tradition that people who have grown up in the city their whole lives look forward to.”