New Orleans’ Carnival

&
The Dorothy Mae Taylor
Ordinance
 What is Mardi Gras?
• Traditionally, Mardi Gras refers to events of the
Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany
and ending on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi
Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday" referring to the
practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods
before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which
starts on Ash Wednesday. Related popular practices
were associated with celebrations before the fasting
and religious obligations associated with the
penitential season of Lent. Popular practices included
wearing masks and costumes, overturning social
conventions, dancing, sports competitions, parades,
etc.
 Carnival in Louisiana
The celebration of Mardi Gras was brought to Louisiana by
early French settlers. The first record of the holiday being
celebrated in Louisiana was at the mouth of the Mississippi
River in what is now lower Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana,
on March 3, 1699. Iberville, Bienville, and their men
celebrated it as part of an observance of Catholic practice.

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville

Bienville
 Social Clubs
• Social clubs play a very large part in the
Mardi Gras celebration. Many of the
parades on or around Mardi Gras Day are
hosted by social clubs.
• From social clubs, the development of
the parading krewe arises—the masking
and parading component of their
respective organizations
• “Old-line” krewes—named so due to the
fact that they are the original Mardi Gras
krewes—consisted of The Mistick Krewe
of Comus, Krewe of Proteus, Rex, and
Knights of Momus who used to reign as
the monarchs of Carnival in New Orleans.
[These krewes were the principal targets
of the Carnival Desegregation Grand Duke Romanoff, upon his visit
to New Orleans in 1872 he was guest
Ordinance.] of honor reviewing the inaugural Rex
parade
 The Mistick Krewe of Comus
• Founded in 1857, the Krewe of
Comus has the distinction of
having originally been the
oldest parading Krewe.
• Founded by six men (all
Protestant white Americans)
who had moved to New
Orleans from Mobile, Alabama,
they formed a secret society
along with thirteen New
Orleanians and mounted a
tableau ball for 3,000 people at
the Gaiety Theatre.
• Archaic in nature with parades
centered around mysticism
 Comus:
The Club of the Social Elite in New Orleans
• Membership in Comus has
historically been identical or nearly
identical to membership in the
private New Orleans men's club The
Pickwick Club.
• The Pickwick Club was an elite social
club comprised of rich white men. It
served as a place that held balls,
lunches, exquisite dinners, and was
defined as "one of the finest
traditions of New Orleans." Its events
and social activities were produced in
newspapers in the late 18th century
and throughout the 20th century.
The newspaper clippings served as a
story about a place that only the
privileged could go to.
The Original Pickwick Club
building on Canal St.
 Rex
• Founded in 1872, "Rex...King of Carnival" has
been the international symbol of New Orleans
Mardi Gras since the Krewe first appeared.
• Rex was the first Krewe to hold an organized
daytime Parade and remains the main event
Parade of Mardi Gras Day. It is responsible for
the majority of the concepts which accompany
modern day parades...the official Mardi Gras
flag and colors...the anthem of the
Carnival...and one of the most popular throws,
the doubloon.
• Sponsored by the School of Design (the same
group that presented the first daytime Parade in
the City of New Orleans in 1872), its motto is:
"Pro Bono Publico" ("For The Public Good").
• The King of Rex is almost always an outstanding
civil and business leader and generally a
member of the old-line Boston Club (an old
conservative and Christian club).
Lewis J. Solomon, the first Rex,
King of Carnival
 The Krewe of Proteus
Founded in 1882 and making its
debut with a Parade theme based on
Egyptian mythology, the Krewe of
Proteus is thus the second oldest
Krewe in Carnival history.
In 1893 the Krewe first introduced
the tradition of call outs, where
masked costumed Krewe members
invited ladies in attendance to step
out on the dance floor with them
Very much centered in tradition,
Krewe of Proteus parade floats are
still using the original chassis from
the early 1880's.
 Knights of Momus
• The Fourth of the old-line krewes,
chartered soon after Rex in 1872, the
Krewe of Momus was named for the
God of Mockery. It first participated
in the Carnival in 1877. Members
come from the ranks of the all-white
Louisiana Club and their motto is:
"Dum Vivimus, Vivamus" ("While we
live, let us live").
• The Momus parade was a fixture of
the New Orleans Mardi Gras parade
schedule, parading annually on the
Thursday before Fat Tuesday. Since
Momus was the Greek god of
mockery, the themes of Momus
parades typically paid homage to the
Illustration of the Greek God Momus organization's namesake with
irreverent humor and biting satire.
 Precursors to the Dorothy Mae Taylor
Ordinance
• There were several
precursors and complications
during the introduction,
advancement, and eventual
passing of the Dorothy Mae
Taylor Ordinance:
– The Election of Dorothy Mae
Taylor
– The 1991 Gubernatorial
Campaign of David Duke
– Carnival Modernization
[Superkrewes]
 Dorothy Mae Taylor
• A long-time civil rights advocate,
Dorothy Mae Taylor was the first
woman elected to New Orleans' City
Council in 1986.
• In 1991, she championed an
ordinance—encouraged by a
coalition of Jews, blacks, women, and
disaffected businessmen—to
desegregate the gentlemens'
luncheon clubs that had been the
public face of the Mardi Gras krewes.
• Often referred to as the “Grinch that
stole Mardi Gras”
 Racial Tension in New Orleans
• Due to the nationally-covered Gubernatorial campaign of former Grand Wizard of the
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke racial tension was at an all-time high in New Orleans.
• His campaign enacted latent feelings and emotions between Blacks and Whites that was for
the most part not talked about.
• David Duke’s brief political success was built upon this racial tension as he pulled out strong
feelings when he addressed topics such as bussing and welfare to which many white
Americans felt were unfair and “unnecessary burdens.”

David Duke in his Grand Wizard Uniform David Duke on the Campaign Trail
 Carnival Modernization
• As many people found themselves excluded from the traditional
krewes that dominated Mardi Gras they sought to found their own.
As a result the superkrewe emerged consequently changing the
culture of Carnival.
• These krewes invested significantly more money in their throws
with the purpose of frenzying and entertaining the crowd; they
boasted about how much they could throw.
• This attitude about throwing as much as possible changes the
culture of Carnival-goers as people enjoyed catching things at
parades as opposed to simply watching them pass. The
aforementioned change exponentially increased the popularity of
the superkrewes and the opinions about the old-line krewes.
– It has been said several times that during an old-line parade you were
more likely to have beer spilt on you that to catch anything.
 Endymion
• Founded in 1967 and named for
the Olympian God of Fertility and
Eternal Youth, this Krewe is the
largest in Mardi Gras history, rising
to "SuperKrewe" status in 1974.
• Billing itself as "the largest non-
military parade in the world," it
annually selects celebrity Grand
Marshals who also preside over
the Endymion Extravaganza held
in the Louisiana Superdome
immediately following the Parade.
• The motto of this Krewe is: "Token
of Youth" and its members also
boast the phrase: "Throw 'Til It
Hurts!"
 Bacchus
• Founded in 1968 by a handful of
New Orleans business leaders,
the Krewe of Bacchus debuted in
1969
• Bacchus is comprised of
prominent business men and
women from around the State of
Louisiana. Bacchus replaced the
customary Carnival Ball with a
supper to which tickets could be
purchased by visitors and locals.
King Kong: Synonymous with
Bacchus • A progressive, daring and bold
Krewe, Bacchus has often been
known to break with tradition
during the Carnival in order to
create excitement among the
crowd.
The debate surrounding the ordinance was quite lengthy and difficult as
negotiations were useless with neither side willing to compromise their
positions.

THE ARGUMENTS OF BOTH SIDES

OF THE ORDINANCE
 Anti-Ordinance Arguments:
[Principally the Arguments of the Old-Line Krewes and their supporters]

– The Clubs were private and therefore could constitutionally

choose their members as they so desired
– The krewes were historically secretive and the ordinance would
ruin the “most significant” part of Mardi Gras—the history
– The clubs accept the subsidy but that was pale in comparison to
the money given to their philanthropic causes as well as the tax
revenue they bring in with each Carnival
– The passing of an ordinance would “kill” Mardi Gras and ruin a
$500 million dollar industry that brings in about $27 million for
the city itself
– The city had not given the krewes enough time to “desegregate”
themselves”
– Passing the ordinance would cause the end of Mardi Gras
 Pro-Ordinance Arguments:
• Membership to the clubs were intentionally segregated
– Felt that that looked bad upon the city [especially in the
wake of the David Duke election
• The “segregated” clubs created business opportunities
that were unfairly denied to blacks
• Mardi Gras was a large financial burden on the city
– The krewes received large subsidies for police protection,
sanitation, and etc. which as a result, made them liable to
desegregation laws
• Many city residents felt that old-line krewes used
Mardi Gras to perpetuate, or “relive” the Confederacy
• The city had given the krewes about 3 years to
“desegregate” with no results
– The ordinance was initially introduced in 1988
The Ordinance Passes Unanimously
It reads as such:
“An ORDINANCE to amend and reordain Section
42-101 and Section 42-102 of Chapter 42, and Chapter
40A of the City Code as a new Chapter 40A of the City
Code, relative to the Human Relations Commission and
City policy with respect to invidious discrimination, to
prohibit such discrimination in public accommodations,
resorts and amusements; to amend the definitions of
public accommodation and discriminations so as to
include certain classes of persons and certain types of
clubs and other institutions not distinctly private in
character; to establish certain new procedures; and
otherwise to provide with respect thereto.”