Celebrating Black Mardi Gras

Imperial Calcasieu Museum Hosts Exhibit

The best part of ringing in a New Year is knowing that Mardi Gras is just around the corner. As we enjoy our king cakes and chicken runs, it’s important to remember the origins of these traditions. Mardi Gras would not be as rich without the influence of Black and Brown communities. This Mardi Gras season, the Imperial Calcasieu Museum spotlights the Black history of Mardi Gras through a fascinating exhibit.

The history of Mardi Gras contains many painful moments but also elements of joy and celebration. Some of these ugly moments include the prevalence of blackface and segregation. New Orleans krewes were not officially desegregated until 1992. But there are also moments of beauty. The celebration of Mardi Gras gave Black people a time of the year that would consistently be filled with celebration and community. For everyone, Mardi Gras is a time to let loose, pass down traditions, and eat well.

One visible difference in Black Mardi Gras garb stems from a 1785 decree from the Spanish Governor Esteban Rodriguez Miró. To prevent white men from being enticed by the beautiful Black Mardi Gras revelers, he ordered Black women to wear headscarves to imply inferiority and dampen their beauty. In an act of resistance, these women wore bright, colorful headscarves instead of drab, ordinary ones. Their boldness became a tradition, with many Black Mardi Gras celebrants wearing vibrant headscarves today.

Many Black Mardi Gras traditions come from this same sense of resistance and resilience. The distinctive style of Black Mardi Gras comes from Black revelers feeling unwelcome or even being forbidden from attending the larger scaled Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans. Rather than accepting their banishment, Black celebrants created their own parades. This allowed them to form their own music, dance, parade, costume, and performance traditions; for example, the Krewe of Zulu tradition of handing out decorated coconuts. This began in around 1910 and has become one of the most coveted parade tosses to date.

Black Mardi Gras traditions also come from a relationship of solidarity dating back to the 1800s. When enslaved peoples attempted to escape their bondage, they would rely on Native American tribes to hide them from slave catchers.

To honor Native Americans for their help, many Black krewes today wear Native American masks. Beyond helping them escape slavery, these two communities have continued their relationship with a long history of intermarriage and mingling of traditions.

The Black History of Mardi Gras Exhibit will be on display through March 4, 2023. Experience intricate costumes, memorabilia and photographs, and histories of our Louisiana Krewes. This elaborate display is on loan from numerous SWLA and New Orleans Krewe collections and the Imperial Calcasieu Mardi Gras Museum. 204 W Sallier St., Lake Charles. Rachel Baldwin is the Assistant to the Director at Calcasieu Imperial Museum.

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Beads, king cake, glittering costumes, and parades . . . the Mardi Gras season in Southwest Louisiana continues with activities and traditional celebrations through Fat Tuesday on February 21.