Zulu Mardi Gras Parade and Ball
New Orleans African-American Club Celebrating Century of Fun,Charity
Feb 4, 2009
The Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club is celebrating its centennial with a revised history, an impressive exhibit in a French Quarter museum, appointment of a former Zulu queen as the White House social director, the building of a new $2.5 million headquarters, a coconut painted especially for America’s first African-American president and a carnival ball for 10,000 people.
Zulu has come a long way since it was:
- Founded sometime in 1909
- Confined for decades to parading only in black neighborhoods
- Ignored for years and later ridiculed by the news media
- Condemned by fellow blacks in the 1960s as being undignified and insulting to their race
- Reduced to about 16 members during the integration era
The club has grown to hundreds of members and attracts black and white non-members from around the nation who pay $1500 to ride in its parade.
Shares Route With Rex
Zulu now shares the prestigious St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street parade route with Rex, the traditional white king of New Orleans carnival. It conducts a 50-float parade and jams an estimated 10,000 people into the Morial Convention Center for its annual ball.
It has won city approval to expand its 30-year-old headquarters with a $2.5 million project on a five-lot area it owns in the North Broad Street area. That’s "where our roots are," Zulu President Charles Hamilton told the city council.
Zulu’s fame has spread around the world as one of the prime attractions of the New Orleans carnival season.
Desiree Rogers
In 2009, it also established a foothold in the White House with the naming of Desiree Rogers, a two-time queen of Zulu, as President Obama’s social secretary. Rogers, 49, is a New Orleans native who had become one of Chicago’s best known executives.
Hamilton saw Rogers’ appointment as an opportunity to introduce Zulu to Obama. He commissioned the special painting of a coconut for eventual presentation to the new president and had it packaged in a Faberge’ egg box. Zulu-painted coconuts are perhaps the most prized carnival souvenirs.
Clarence Becknell
A duplicate coconut was painted for display at the year-long Zulu exhibit in the Presbytere museum. The exhibit, titled "From Tramps to Kings," includes Zulu artifacts and is based on an updated Zulu history written by club historian Clarence Becknell.
In an interview with Chris Rose of The Times-Picayune, Becknell said the exhibit corrects a lot of myths about Zulu.
"Many writers have gotten the story wrong. Now we are finally telling the actual story of our organization," Becknell said."The community thinks of us as just a Mardi Gras organization that all they do is is throw parties and paint coconuts. We’re more than that."
The organization prides itself on its community service work, including working with kids and helping troubled families handle medical and burial problems.
Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong
In 1949 Zulu began a new tradition in a tradition-rich carnival. It invited Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong to return to his native city to serve as Zulu’s first celebrity king. Celebrities have since become standard figures in most major carnival parades.
Despite all its modernization, the Zulu parade still features its decades-old characters: the Witch Doctor, Mr. Big Stuff, Big Shot, Mayor, Governor and Ambassador. Like the king, they are elected by the membership.
References:
- Arthur Hardy’s Mardi Gras Guide, 33rd Annual Edition 2009
- "Clarence Becknell," by Chris Rose, Times-Picayune, 1/30/09
- "Zulu offers prize fit for a president," by Jenny Hurwitz, Times-Picayune, 1/16/09
- "A Century of Zulu", by Brendan McCarthy, Times-Picayune, 1/22/09
- "Zulu expansion okay", by Bruce Eggler, Times-Picayune, 5/16/08
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