Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club

Zulu paraders at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 2003

The Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club (founded 1916) is a Carnival krewe in New Orleans, Louisiana which puts on the Zulu parade each Mardi Gras Day. Zulu is New Orleans' largest predominantly African American carnival organization known for its blackfaced krewe members wearing grass skirts and its unique throw of hand-painted coconuts. The club is a regular feature of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

History

In 1908, John L. Metoyer and members of a New York mutual aid society called "The Tramps" attended a vaudevillian comedy show called There Never Was and Never Will Be a King Like Me. The musical comedy performed by the "Smart Set" at the Pythian Temple Theater on the corner of Gravier and Saratoga in New Orleans included a skit where the characters wore grass skirts and dressed in blackface. Metoyer became inspired by the skit and reorganized his marching troupe from baggy-pant-wearing tramps to a new group called the "Zulus". In 1909, Metoyer and the first Zulu king, William Story, wore a lard-can crown and carried a banana stalk as a scepter. Six years later in 1915, the first decorated platform was constructed with dry goods boxes on a spring wagon. The King's float was decorated with tree moss and palmetto leaves.

In 1916, Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club became incorporated where the organization's bylaws were established as well as its social mission and dedication to benevolence and goodwill.
In 1933, the Lady Zulu Auxiliary was formed by the wives of Zulu members, and in 1948 Edwina Robertson became the first Queen of Zulu, making the club the first to feature a queen in a parade.
In the 1960s, membership dwindled as a result of social pressures from civil rights activists. The protesters advertised in the local black community's newspaper The Louisiana Weekly stating:

We, the Negroes of New Orleans, are in the midst of a fight for our rights and for a recognition of our human dignity which underlies those rights. Therefore, we resent and repudiate the Zulu Parade, in which Negroes are paid by white merchants to wander through the city drinking to excess, dressed as uncivilized savages and throwing cocoanuts like monkeys. This caricature does not represent Us. Rather, it represents a warped picture against us. Therefore, we petition all citizens of New Orleans to boycott the Zulu Parade. If we want respect from others, we must first demand it from ourselves.

The krewe, with the support of the Mayor and chief-of-police, refused to give in to pressure and continued to parade, but gave up blackfacing, wearing grass skirts and kept the identity of the king secret. Due to continued pressure, by 1965 there were only 15 Zulu members remaining. The membership of local civil rights leaders Ernest J. Wright and Morris F.X. Jeff Sr. into Zulu eventually lifted tensions and membership started to increase and the krewe resumed their old traditions, including blackface.

In 1973, Roy E. "Glap" Glapion Jr., Zulu president from 1973–1988, started recruiting professionals, educators, and prominent businessmen from all ethnic backgrounds to fill its membership, making Zulu the first parading organization to racially integrate.

Zulu coconut

The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club is well known to parade-goers for throwing coconuts to the crowd. In the early 20th century, other parading organizations threw glass necklaces, often hand-made and expensive. The working men of Zulu could not afford similar throws, and decided to purchase coconuts from the French Market since they were unusual and relatively cheap. Painted and adorned coconuts became popular with the club starting in the late 1940s. In 1987, the organization was unable to renew its insurance coverage, and lawsuits stemming from coconut-related injuries forced a halt to the tradition. In 1988 Governor Edwin W. Edwards signed Louisiana State Bill #SB188, the "Coconut Bill", into law, removing liability from injuries resulting from coconuts and enabling the tradition to resume.

King of Zulu

Zulu is the only New Orleans Mardi Gras krewe that selects their king through an election process. Potential kings must campaign for the job, including throwing parties for other krewe members to solicit votes.

List of past Kings of Zulu:

1909 – William Story 1910 – William J. Crawford 1911 – Alex Washington 1912 – Peter Williams 1913 – James Bolton 1914 – Henry Harris 1915 – John White 1916 – John White 1917 – James Robertson 1918-1919 – WAR 1920 – Freddie Brown 1921 – James Robertson 1922 – Herbert Permillion 1923 – Joseph Kahoe 1924 – Adrian Hippolite 1925 – Baley Robertson 1926 – Joseph L. Smith 1927 – Arnold L. Moss 1928 – Henry Hicks 1929 – Wurry Watson 1930 – Paul Johnson 1931 – Allen Leon 1932 – Alonzo Butler 1933 – Allen Leon 1934 – Leopold LeBlanc 1935 – Baptiste Giles 1936 – Edmond Hewlett 1937 – Arthur Royal 1938 – Leopold LeBlanc 1939 – Allen James 1940 – Emmanuel Bernard 1941 – Alonzo Butler 1942-1945 – WAR 1946 – Clen Vandage 1947 – Joseph Warrington 1948 – James Smith 1949 – Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong 1950 – William Poole 1951 – Roland Brown 1959 – Melvin Green 1960 – Baptiste Giles 1961 – Henry Johnson 1962 – Melvin Green 1963 – William Poole 1964 – Edward Johnson 1965 – Milton Bienamee 1966 – Alfred "Al" Barnes 1967 – Milton Bienamee 1968 – William "Honey" Boykins

1969 – Elizah J. Peters 1970 – Milton Bienamee 1971 – Henry "Bo" Berry 1972 – Arthur "Sonny Boy" Carter 1973 – Steve "Bulldog Buddy" Johnson 1974 – Morris FX Jeff 1975 – Harold Doley 1976 – Dr. Lawler P. Daniels Jr. 1977 – A.J. "Chuck" Mercadel 1978 – Willie L. Papin 1979 – Joseph O. Misshore, Jr. 1980 – Elliot Boisdore 1981 – John Elliot Adams 1982 – Charles L. Givens 1983 – Jesse J. Balancier 1984 – Alfred H. Gordon 1985 – Eddie R. Carter 1986 – Louis Augustin 1987 – Fred Thomas 1988 – Arthur Vigne 1989 – Owens "OJ" Haynes 1990 – Keith E. Weatherspoon 1991 – Charles E. Hamilton, Jr. 1992 – James "Jim" Russell 1993 – Oscar Piper 1994 – David Belfield 1995 – Straughter Prophet 1996 – Louis R. Rainey, Jr. 1998 – Wallace Broussard 1999 – Dr. Myron Moorehead 2000 – Roy E. Glapion, Jr. 2001 – Melvin A. Armour 2002 – Louis "Tony" Williams 2003 – Gary A. Thornton 2004 – Gerard M. Johnson 2005 – Isaac "Ike" Wheeler 2006 – no elections due to Hurricane Katrina 2007 – Larry A. Hammond 2008 – Frank Boutte' 2009 – Tyrone Anthony Mathieu, Sr. 2010 – Jimmie L. Felder 2011 – Anthony "Tony" Barker, Sr. 2012 – Elroy Anthony James 2013 – Cedric George Givens 2014 – Garren Mims 2015 – Andrew "Pete" Sanchez, Jr. 2016 – Jay H. Banks 2017 – Adonis Expose 2018 – Brent D. Washington, Sr.

Queen of Zulu

In 1948 Edwina Robertson became the first Queen of Zulu, making the club the first to feature a queen in a parade. It is a tradition for the club to make a show of meeting the Zulu queen at the airport, but most years' Zulu queens live in New Orleans and therefore have to travel elsewhere so that they can make the flight into the airport for the ceremony.

See also

• Carnival
• New Orleans Mardi Gras

External links

• Official website