By Garry Blanson
Part Two from last week
First, let me welcome everyone back for Part Two of this series!
Next, I would like to thank “Lora Peppers,” in the Genealogy Department at the Main Branch of the Ouachita Parish Library on Stubb’s Avenue in Monroe, Louisiana. For those who don’t know, Lora has compiled a collection of interesting articles on “the Negro Zulu Mardi Gras parades that were held in Monroe, Louisiana between the 1930s and the 1960s.” Also, the articles are being stored in the Genealogy Department in a “specialty file” under the name, “Zulu Mardi Gras Parades and Ball.”
Ok, so in my last ORBH article, I mentioned Frank Perkins and the Negro XYZ Club. Well, without them, there probably would never have been “a Negro Zulu Mardi Gras parade” in Monroe at all! You see, Frank Perkins and the XYZ Club members had a vision of a grand parade where Black citizens could celebrate their Black cultural heritage through a local parade, followed by an elegant ball at the Savoy Room in “the historic Miller-Roy Building” in Monroe.
Reportedly, “the first Negro Zulu Mardi Gras parade was held in Monroe back in 1930.”
Now, for a quick moment, I would like for everyone to “picture in their mind the Black King & Queen of the Negro Zulu Mardi Gras parade,” arriving aboard an “extravagant yacht” as they approach “the Monroe Boat Dock” at the foot of Pine Street near downtown Monroe!
What a sight it is to see them as they are outfitted in royal attire and being escorted to a stunning, decorative float. By the way, the parade started at Pine Street, where the King and Queen were picked up, continued on to Sixth and Desiard Streets, and ended at “the fabulous Miller-Roy Building,” which just happens to be exactly where the annual Zulu Ball was held.
Can you imagine a ballroom being so crowded that members of the XYZ Club would place speakers in the windows to broadcast to the groups of Black people gathered outside of “the Miller-Roy Building?”
Incidentally, “the first King of the Negro Zulu Mardi Gras parade” was a Black man by the name of Bootie Jim Jones, and the first Queen was a Black lady named Mary Britten. Also, there was another Black lady who served as a Queen of the parade, and her name was Lucille Burrell, a member of Mt. Nebo Missionary Baptist Church in Monroe.
Another interesting fact is that in one of the articles, it stated that Governor James A. Noe would sometimes loan out his personal boat, “Noe’s Ark,” to the XYZ Club for the King and Queen of the parade to sail up the Ouachita River to the Monroe Boat Dock.
Finally, back in 2007, Rev. Roosevelt Wright Jr. presented a play at the Monroe Civic Center about “the first Negro Zulu Mardi Gras parade in Monroe, Louisiana.”
In closing, it is my hope that everyone who reads my articles about Frank Perkins, the XYZ Club, and the Negro Zulu Mardi Gras Parades and Balls will begin sharing this information with others, who will also share this information with others as well!
