As most New Orleaniansknow,social aid and pleasure clubs originally formed to ensure Black people would be able to have aproper funeraland burialduring atime when that wasn’tguaranteed. Their second-lines are now acultural touchstone of the city and remain a cornerstone of many neighborhood celebrations and traditions.But their work in thecommunity,asmentors, coaches organizersand advocates forBlack men and women, draws less attention even though its impact is often more profound for the people it reaches
The Young Men Olympian Junior Benevolent Society,founded in1884,isthe city’soldest benevolentsociety —and the second-oldest one in the country
The organization has been apart of Norman Dixon Jr.’slifefor 50 years.
“Dad put me in when Iwas 7,”hesaid. “And now I’m 57.”
Keepingthemclose
Dixon recalls that growinguphis father,Norman Dixon Sr., kept him close. He remembers that thetwo of them went just about everywhere together
“Our life was really our dad. He kept us close, which meant he kept usclose to his friends —and, hisfriends were the Young Men Olympian,” Dixon said. “They carried themselves acertain way —apositive way,helping the community,knowingwhat’sgoing on in the world.”
He also remembers howhis dadand other members “would cometosecondline all dressed up.”
While other people wonderedwhy the gentlemen alwayslookssoclean when they came to second-line,Dixon knew.
“I knew that theywereall coming from church. They weredeacons,” he said. “All of thosemen were worshippers. If you were around them, it was
IMAGE COURTESY OF THE HISTORIC NEWORLEANSCOLLECTION
Amember is interred at the Young Men Olympian JuniortombinLafayette CemeteryNo. 2in1965
going to rub off.”
When Dixon was 20, he went to BrighamYoung University in Provo, Utah,toplay football.
“A reportertold me that it wasstrange that an African American from New Orleans would come to Utah to play football,” Dixon said. “My answer was that my parents, my community,myfamily andthe Young Men Olympian prepared me to go anywhere.”
More than asecond-line
“People think it’sabout the secondline, but thatdidn’tcome ’til later —five or 10 years afterwestarted, we started that for themusicians,” he said.
Dixonsays theorganization’s primary work these days is centered around the
next generation. Young Men Olympian Junior now has 10 coaches to work with New Orleans youth. All together, 35 kids areinvolved —a number that fluctuates. They’ve had as many as 68.
Jerome Temple, ateacher and wellknownrapper,isone of theorganization’s mostpopular coaches, according to Dixon.
“The kids of today areeither involved in awhole lotofgood stuff or awhole lot of badstuff,” Dixon said. “When my dad was around, you had kids who just weren’tdoing anything —good or bad. They needed somethingtograbahold of.”
Dixon says he’shappy to do the work
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BY JANRISHER Staff writer
Ahead of theFourth of July in aquiet neighborhood in Acadiana,amystery man has taken it upon himselftoline the street withAmerican flags.
Theunidentified flag fellow didn’t get approval to hangflags on the light poles. He just didit. Hisreasoning is simultaneously simple and complex —he’sconcerned about the state of our country and wanted to create someoutwardshow of unity
This beg-for-forgiveness approach to patriotism mademethink of one of my favorite art installations. It’s in the opening gallery at theCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville,Arkansas. Thework hangs on a giant dark wall —the words “Wethe People” emblazoned across it in oversized letters tallerthan Iam. Each letter is made of hundreds, maybe thousands, of shoestrings in allthe colors of the rainbow
Theartwork is Nari Ward’svision —anattempt to bring the message of “Wethe People” into the 21st century “These words not onlyrepresent grand idealswritten by the founding fathers hundreds of years ago, but also speak to theconcernsofAmericans today,” the museum’swebsite says. “Throughthe use of acommon item, the artist has woven ‘we the people’ into our contemporary lives.”
In the spiritofthe work, themuseum invited communitymembers to help installthe shoelaces.
Thework’simpact is avivid example of the sum of something being greater than itsindividualparts —much like the 35 or so flags on the streets of a sleepy neighborhood in Lafayette. Multipleneighbors tellmethe display has given them anew and improved sense of community. One saidshe can’thelp but tear up when sheturns intoher street and sees the sun shining through the flags allinarow
Considering the flag as asymbol of unity made me think about the national symbol’s origins and wonder what George Washington would think about today’sstate of affairs. In 1796, when he announced he would notbeseeking athird term as president, he published aletter to the American people,often calledhis farewelladdress though it was never presented as aspeech.
Theletter,which Alexander Hamilton and James Madison helped
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JanRisher LONG STORY SHORT
ä See RISHER, page 2G
ä See OLYMPIAN, page 2G
PROVIDED
STAFF PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD
Michael Hite, left, Ivon Wright, David Basquine and Calvin ‘Lil’ Man’ Jones Sr.ofthe Young Men Olympian Jr.Benevolent Association second-line in Central City in NewOrleans on March 24.
Shreveport rare triplets approaching10months
One-in-a-million Cordaro siblingsthriveathome
BY ELIZABETHDEAL Staff writer
When Claire, Ella and Lily Cordaro were born on Aug. 28, 2023, theCordaro family doubledinsize. With no history of multiples on either side of the family,parents Haley and MatthewCordarowere more than alittle surprisedtolearn the news.
“Weabout fell out of our chair at the ultrasound,” Matthew Cordaro said. At first, they didn’tknow whatwas taking so long to learn the results. He joked, “Is this her first day?”
It wasn’t.
Instead,itwas an ultrasound showing a one-in-a-million result.
Spontaneous triplets, conceiving three babies without the help of fertilitytreatments, happens in about 1in10,000 pregnancies. But the odds of the tripletsalso being identical goes to at least 1inamillion and up to 1in200 million, according to anews release from Willis Knighton HealthSystem where Claire, Ella and Lily Cordaro were born.
“Those were crazy odds,” Haley said.
How do they tell the girls apart?Haley says one of her daughters has afreckle andthe othertwo havered birthmarks between their eyes.
“They have different face shapes to me,” she added, “butmaybe it’sbecause I’m around them all the time.”
Haley and Matthew also have a3-yearold daughter,Kennedy
Haley says theadjustmentfor the big sister was abit rough at first, with some unsurprising jealousy making occasional appearances.
“Now she is obsessed with them and loves them so much,” Haley said. “They are like her own little personalbaby dolls.”
Doubling the size of the family created anew issue —the need for more space.
Once the Cordaros found out about the pregnancy,they started building anew house and moved in in January when the triplets were 5months old.
“The first couple of months are like
OLYMPIAN
Continued from page1G
to follow in his father’sfootsteps
He recalls when he was ayoungster involved in Young Men Olympian Junior.Fromwhere he sits today,hesees many differences between the youth of his day and the youth of today
“Kids now are so much older in some ways,” he said. “I seechildren today who are not given the opportunity to be young people. When we came along, we didn’t have as many obstacles.”
He reflects on the way most kids used to play outside,and his fatherwould drive around the streets and say,“Hey,y’all want to be in asecond-line?” —a type of recruiting that doesn’thappen these days.
“I don’tknow the lasttime I went down any street in this community and saw kidsoutside playing like that,” Dixon said. He adds that most of the kids the organization serves today are from single-family homes. The moms and the kids are so busy and active that Dixon says getting to eventsand practices is often difficult.
“Wehave 50 tickets to thePelican games. Our kids are so busy that we end up taking alot of outsidekids, whichthat’sgood —those are the kidsIwanttaken care of,” he said.
Investinginthe future
They were early adopters in offering digital training for students with acyber computer summer camp.
“IBM invested money.Wewere the pilot. We had kidswho came with ankle bracelets under house arrest, kids from our organization and kids from the community,” Dixon said. During the pandemic, the organizationfed hungry children from throughout the New Orleans area. Dixon says the heart of themission goes back to the organization’sroots.
“Wehelp people in need, but we don’ttalk about it,” he said. “If you don’tknow us, you don’tknowus. The people who know us respect us.”
140years of history
Dixon, now president of theorganization —only the sixth president in the organization’s140year history —says for its 108 members, that dedicationtothe organization is “what it’sabout.”
“Westill help bury our members. We havetwo tombs on Washington Avenue,” Dixon said. “Every member is guaranteed the right to be buried there. We still take care of the sick. Now we do more community stuff
‘Whac-a-Mole,’ ”Matthew said.“Now it’salittle better,more manageable. We can really enjoy them. At first it was just keeping them alive.”
He says the whole family enjoys now that the girls areshowing personalityand emotions. For Haley,the most nerve-wracking part wasbringingher newdaughtershomeat5 pounds.
“They’re 15 pounds now,healthy and starting to crawl,” she said.
The family has adaytime nanny and babysitters to help out.
Haley says she and Matthew realize they’re outnumbered now
“The way we do everythinghas changed,” said Haley Matthew says they use “economies of scale” to manage efficiency,basically creatinganassembly line and doing everything at once. They line up thehighchairs andfeed them at the same time. They line the triplets up at bath time.
“It takes all hands on deck at bedtime,” said Haley
Sleep is achallenge for both parents and babies.
The triplets spent seven weeks in the NICU before coming home, and mom and dadtook advantage of thattime getting sleep while they could.
“Trying to operate on just afew hours of sleep” is thehardest part,according to Matthew. “It’sa24-hour job.”
Thecouples takes turnsgettingupinthe middle of the night. Matthew said gettinga 3-hour stretch of sleep is valued.
Thebabies also now wake each other up in the middle of the night if one starts screaming. The solution has been for them to sleep in three separate rooms.
“Wejust don’tneed any extra wakeups,” Matthew said.
Thetripletsare approaching10months old.
“I thinkthe hardest nightsare behind us,” Matthewsaid, adding that he wasoptimistic and hopeful for easier days.
“We’re pretty excited to plan their first birthday party,” said Haley Email Elizabeth Deal at elizabeth. deal@theadvocate.com.
we’re working to save the young men. We do activities with the kids to keep them off the street.”
Even still, for many, the Young Men Olympian’sname is synonymous with second-lines —and members still enjoythe fun, the music, the camaraderie, getting decked out and the chance to dance.
“Whentheywould pass my house, I’dbedancing. Boy, Icould dance,” said longtimemember JackHumphreyremembering the days of his youth. “I followed second-linesevery since Icould get away from the house. …For New Orleans, it’saculture. This didn’tjust popupfromanywhere. Itcamefrom ourancestors —to relieve some of the stress.”
Year-round, Humphrey and many society members work to prepare for ParadeDay,which is the fourth Sunday in September He also continues todance with andshepherd the youngsters who are members,helping with the dress code, making surethe ribbons, plumes and outfits are just right.
The organizationiscomprised of six divisions, with the Body being the root of the organization.Other divisionsinclude The FirstDivision, The New Look Kids, The Big Steppers, The Untouchable, The Furious Five. Each division has itsown look andpersonality,and members sometimes move from one division to another depending on age or interests. All members are permittedtoparade withinthe parades as long aseach wears black andwhite. The clubhouse, which is named for Dixon’sfather,Norman Dixon Sr., is located at 2101 S. Liberty St., New Orleans. On Aug. 31, memberswill celebrate the organization’s140th anniversary with aball.
Abrotherhood that is palpable Rachel Breunlin, ethnographerin-residence at the University of New Orleans, has worked on a film about the Young Men Olympian Junior organization as part of aNational Endowment for the Humanities grant. She says there were alot of different burial societies in New Orleans, but most of the organizations don’texist anymore.
Breunlin says the organization’ssense of brotherhood is palpable, and that theintense connection to fellow members starts in the kids’ division.
“The Young Men Olympian organizationgivesa strong sense of identity and place,” she said. “It creates itsown safety net and coming of ages for its members.” She says the intergenerational
aspects of the organization, including opportunitiesfor observed coming-of-age moments, have aprofound impact on many of its members— young and old. Additionally,members still “do the old-school work of checking in on their members when they’re sick.”
The process of becoming a member is simple. Those interested turn in an application, pay afee and then two members conduct an investigation.
“Wetalk to your wife. We find out what kind of man you are. We ask your neighbors —that’sjust what we do,” Dixon said.
To learnmore aboutYoung Men Olympian Jr., email ymo1884@gmail.com.
Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.
RISHER
Continued from page1G
Washington draft, was dated Sept.19, 1796, andpublished in the “American Daily Advertiser” and then in other papers throughoutthe country Washington writes that theadvice he offers is not self-serving. He describes them as “thedisinterested warnings of aparting friend.” He advises against partisanship and offers advice to work toward “felicity as apeople.” Washington discusses theimportance of thesolidarity of the union.
“The unity of governmentwhich constitutes you onepeopleisalso now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is amain pillarinthe edificeofyour real independence, thesupport of your tranquilityathome, your peace abroad, of your safety,ofyourprosperity,ofthat very liberty which you so highlyprize,” he writes. The letter itself is long. If printed in anewspaper today,itwould span fourpages —withnoheadlines or photos. Some sentences are long— andpacked with high ideals andbig thoughts. Dissect this part of thesentence, for example:
“... it is of infinitemomentthatyou shouldproperly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective andindividual happiness; that you shouldcherish acordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustomingyourselves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of yourpolitical safety and prosperity;watching forits preservation with jealousanxiety; discountenancingwhatever may suggest even asuspicion that it can in any event be abandoned;and indignantly frowninguponthe first dawningof every attempttoalienate anyportion of ourcountry from therest, or to enfeeble thesacred ties which nowlink together thevarious parts.”
In closing,Washington writes that he hopes Americanswill take his counsels from “an old and affectionate friend.”
He adds that he hopes the advice “may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good.He hopes hiswordswill help “now and then recur to moderate thefury of party spirit” and “to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism —this hopewill be afull recompense for the solicitude for your welfare by which they have been dictated.”
As we celebrate independence, I encourage youtoread the entirety of Washington’s letter.Though it was written more than 200 years ago, it is an incredible reminderofthe importance of focusingonwhat brings us together as apeople and just how much we can learn from thegenerationswho came before us.
Email Jan Risher at jan.risher@ theadvocate.com.
STAFF PHOTOSBYSCOTT THRELKELD
Membersofthe Young Men Olympian Jr.Benevolent Association second-line before the Super Sunday Mardi Gras Indians parade.
Young member Rufus Johnson Jr of the Young Men Olympian Jr Benevolent Association, second-lines.
STAFF PHOTOSBYJILL PICKETT
Cordaro triplets, from left, Lily,Ella and Claire sitfor aphoto on May23attheir home in Caddo Parish.
Twoofthe three Cordaro triplets sit in lined-up babyjumpers.
Intentionality:How youshowupand ‘Y’all meansall’
BY LAUREN CHERAMIE Staff writer
Anita Byrne is acommunitychampion in Baton Rouge. She is involved with several civic engagementendeavors, including the BatonRouge Area Chamber,Urban Restoration Enrichment Corp, the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, Nexus Louisiana and more.
In 2016, she was namedpartner at SSA Consultants, abusiness managementand organizationaldevelopment consulting firm that serves clients ranging from nonprofits to public entities and Fortune500 companies. Byrne has provided projectsupport for adecade across all industry sectors.
On behalf of the Baton RougeArea Chamber, she serves as the directorofLeadership Baton Rouge, as well as on the Leadership Baton Rouge Alumni Board of Directors as an ex-officio member
Tell us more aboutyour involvement with St.James Episcopal Church.
Icame to the Episcopal faithasanadult and joined St. James Episcopal downtown. It’sabeautiful church that was built in 1895.Just beforeCOVID, they committed to doingacapital campaignand have renovated the church with anew organ.
Alittle unique to the Episcopal Church, Iwas electedtothe Vestry,which is similartoa board. Individuals servethreeyear terms, and they are elected from the congregation through anomination and election process. For the first of my three years, Iserved as thejunior warden. The second and third years Iserved as asenior warden.
The termsare alittle unique to the church, butessentiallyasenior warden would be achair of the board ina private sectorornonprofit. My time on the Vestry ended in January,but it was ajoy and deep honor to represent and serve in that capacity for St. James.
What other roles do you hold in the church?
For the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, I serve on the bishop’sexecutive committee. The bishop, Shannon Rogers Duckworth, is first woman bishop in the 184-year history of the Diocese of Louisiana.
AnitaByrne is apartner at SSA Consultants, abusiness management andorganizational development consultant firm.She also servesasthe director of Leadership
Iwork with the Inclusive Louisiana Ministry,which is focused on inviting LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies back into the community —oftentimes, the church hasn’t always been the best experience. However, the Episcopal Church is fully inclusive. It’s a“Y’all means all” type of setting. From your perspective, what is the importanceof having diversity in the church and its leadership roles? It reminds me that we all have arole. We allhave the ability to see ourselves in different capacities and different roles. Right now,mytime as seniorwardenhas
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ended, butI stillget to serveonthe Children and Family Ministries for St.James. Iget to teachchildren Sunday schooland work with Children’sChapel. The diversity just showcasesthe ability that we allhave aplace, so we all have the opportunity to serve each other within the church —and to serve in God’srole and capacity
What role does Leadership Baton Rougeplayinyour life?
Iama very proudalumniofthe best class ever (2020). The BatonRouge AreaChamber asked if Iwould serve as thedirector for Leadership Baton Rouge, so I’ve held that role since the class of 2021. It is aprogram that has made awonderful impact in my life in terms of the people I’ve gotten to know.The program allows participants to talk about our community, those spots where we are battingabove our slot, and the amazing things in thecapital region.
When you look at the nine-parish catchment area, there are things that we are doing that other communities are deeply envious of. Obviously,westill have challenges, but what Ilike about the program is it allows us an opportunity to think about what civic engagement looks like.
My goal is that when someone graduates from Leadership Baton Rouge and becomes an alumni, what resonates is that there is always aseason. Maybe it’sraising children, taking care of parents, volunteering or serving on a board, but the ability for you to connect and engage is what makes community better
Leadership Baton Rouge gives youthe opportunity to learn about whatthatmeans.
Do you have anytips on balancing work, volunteer opportunities and social endeavors?
Idoa lotofexecutive leadership coaching in my professional role. One of the things we often talk about is how you showup. Sometimes it’sabout showing up for yourself. So, maybe that does mean arranging your calendarand your energy —whether that’sgiving yourself time to sync or giving yourself time to be with family
Or,saying an intentional no or asking how you can support differently.That’scrucial for leaders. Youcan’tkeeppouring out for others while your cup is empty Being intentionalwith your time and being realistic about setting expectations is a piece of that.
Email Lauren Cheramie at lauren. cheramie@theadvocate.com.
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