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Tuesday, July 29th, 2003- New Orleans, LA ........ News papers are the local carriers of the print news and the printed record of what locals in the cities of New Orleans, and Mobile Alabama say and do each day. It has been that way in some form or another,  for the better part of over 120 years.

People in both cities read what the other is doing in the everyday lives of the two cities and sometimes react to that action or written word. Long ago, the two cities relied heavily on these  papers  to inform them of what  had occurred in each municipality, even more than they do today!

The 1947 Mobile Register registered Mobile's Colored Carnival's Protest of the Zulu Burlesque Style.

Back then,  the papers were known in New Orleans, as  the Times Picayune, New Orleans States and in Mobile, Alabama, the Mobile Register. These two news rags, as they are known in the business, reported on everything from robberies, births, deaths, and social events and happenings. Yes they even reported on the celebration of Carnival in both places. People kept up on how their city stacked up when it came to Mardi Gras. The racier or the more dramatic, the reporting, the better, pretty much as it is today.

It wasn't above the papers, to from time to time, create their own controversy out of nothing, only to sell papers. They did this to a great many things back then and capitalized on the rivalry of the two cities.

So it was really no surprise, of what would happen when the papers of that time, soon learned of a smothering resentment that was felt by a group of "colored," Mobilians, named the Colored Carnival Association, towards a  colored group in New Orleans of a relatively well known, regional club called the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club.  

It seems that the Mobile club, did not think highly of this group of colored men who were not carrying the colored race in a light that was as dignified as colored people should be depicted as. After all they thought, we should present the best light we can if we are to be perceived as equal to the whites.

In 1946, Mobile servicemen were still coming back from the war, and along with them they also brought tales as to how the Zulu's of this New Orleans Social Men's Club, were debasing themselves and the race before huge crowds.

But it hadn't always been that way. In Mobile some 11 years earlier, in 1938, a "Negro" gentleman by the name, A.S. May had liked the Zulu style of fun so much, that he founded the "Knights of May Zulu," featuring the rhythm of the members, "Beating on buckets and tubs", in their first parade that year. it had gotten a pretty good response from the crowd. The one thing the Knights didn't do was to paint themselves the black and white markings as the New Orleans men had done.

 It was also just a year later, in 1939,  that the first Mobile Colored Carnival Monarch,  was crowned. The monarch was first called King Elexis, in 1940.

But apparently over the years the "Burlesque Style", of performance came under fire and as more blacks began the climb, in this region of the country to a more upper class of lifestyle, the practice began a rapid decline in popularity. So much so,  that by 1947, the Colored Carnival Association declared that," the Zulu parade in New Orleans was a burlesque of which we colored people are truly ashamed."

The Times-Picayune in New Orleans wasted no time in publishing the comments of the 1947 Zulu king!

Indeed, intense outside pressure was brought to bear on the Knights of May in '47, not to parade. Pressure from some of Mobile's,  middle class and upper class clubs continued to mount as they voiced their opposition to the May parade and finally the knights gave in and did not parade that season.

Soon news hit the Zulu club of what the Knights had been forced to do. The usually jovial Zulu's were said to be in ,"such a tizzy about the cancelled march", that they sent a few choice words to the Mobile Association. It was at this point that some words were sent back to the Zulu's and a very heated exchange took place on January 9, 1947, between the Zulu board and the Mobile Association by phone.

During all this the local paper began to pick up signs that something was very wrong in Mobile's colored Carnival. It was easy to do, because this was the year that King Elexis was a doctor of high regard in Mobile. It was simply not done, to say offensive things to the King, and this rule applied even more so from, "outsiders"! So when the Mobile register came a calling to see what all the ruckus was about, It didn't take long for the upset king to voice his frustration at the Zulu's in New Orleans.

So during the days before Fat Tuesday around some of the activities, the papers were hanging around hoping to get some information. This was not only about the fact that Burlesque had fallen out of favor with African Americans but that it also threatened to bring Carnival into the fray. It was tag and run for a while, but soon even the hardcore members of association began to crack, and let little bits and pieces slip. The papers are dotted with references of the underlying cause and currents.

On February 3rd, 1947, 15 days before the big day, during one of the associations events, Dr. W. L. Russell makes a comment that is overheard by a newspaper reporter. The reporter then asked Dr. Russell to elaborate on the comment and it all comes out! The doctor let's sail the allegation that the Zulu's ought to be ashamed of themselves and should clean up their act.

On February 14, 1947, the good doctor sounded off again. "It's a shame!" he says. "The way those (Zulus), prance around down there, with Burlesque. They really are making negroes look bad. The face painting, and coconut passing antics were totally undignified....", he stated. "We handle ourselves with dignity and intelligence. We're not trying to tell them how to run their show," he states, "but I repeat that their burlesque is not the kind of celebration we care for in Mobile."

The mobile reporter did not turn in the story right away. He wanted comments from the Zulus so he made sure that an associate brought the words to the Zulus. They responded in Kind, as King Zulu simply said, "Nuts to those people in Mobile! But not no coconuts........", said the king.

On February 15th, 1947, just 3 days before Mardi Gras, the papers in both cities came out with dueling remarks from both the Zulu and the Colored Carnival Association. The long standing feud was lit, and too this day, a small amount of bad blood still exists between the organization. The Zulus weathered that small storm, and would escape to parade another 12 years.

Neither org really remembers the day the clubs really went at it, but it is well documented in the Mobile Register and the halls of the Times-Picayune on microfilm. The clubs in Mobile understood what the New Orleans Zulus didn't. It was appearances that the Blacks couldn't come to grips with.

The orgs were on a collision course, clearly as of 1938, when the Colored Carnival Association set about clear guidelines on a "dignified", parade. Those in Mobile, however, rode that burlesque style as well before 1938, when a "negro clown", would walk in the parade to, "represent the race.", for a lack of better words. Up until 1938, the negro clown was the fixture that walked in the white parade. He too was dress in a patched up, made up, clothes that made him look like a Hobo.

However, this may be the exact cause of the overall "rejection of burlesque", by the Black Mobile Community. After all, one can only take so much, but when you break from that position and move forward, you never want to go back, too, " the way we do it down here."

The Zulus at the time, failed to take the episode seriously. However this small storm was only the shot across the bow of the club that was ignored. The demon of this 1947 rift, would re-emerge, during the wave of black pride and the black power movement, with almost devastating consequences on the organization. In 1961, the club was beset with the same accusations, except this time it was from the home crowd. The clubs membership dwindled to 16, before the last members were forced to, "redefine", what the club really meant to New Orleans.   

To this day, the Zulus of New Orleans, still parade with the vaudeville and Burlesque style.

Note: Dexter Mendez Chamber is a very accomplished reporter out of Atlanta, Ga. that reports on Mobile from time to time. With any luck, we will be bringing Mr. Chamber on the staff of Digest very soon.

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