The dancers had been walking for nearly six hours when, around 6:30 p.m. on a recent Saturday, they reached the Hudson River and rejoiced. Stepping in buoyant unison to the beat of a New Orleans-style brass band, they pumped their hands toward the sky and toward the ground, as if saluting the land, air and water that greeted the end of their journey.

They had made it through “125th and Freedom,” a marathon of a performance piece by Ebony Noelle Golden that stretches from the East River to the Hudson River in Harlem, inviting anyone in its path to join the procession.

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