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Photographer Tim Black has been in New Orleans for over a year now and has seen his share of Mardi Gras parades, but it wasn’t until last Tuesday that he saw the famous Zulu Parade. The Zulu parade is one of the most boasted in New Orleans, with costumes and theatrics as rich as its history. While there’s debate on the precise story of the group’s beginnings, the widely accepted claim is that in 1909, one of New Orleans’ laborer groups, “The Tramps,” saw a musical comedy in which one of the skits was all about the Zulu Tribe. The skit was titled, “There Never Was and Never Will be a King Like Me,” and from that night on, the Tramps took on the name Zulu.
The Zulu parade starts at 8am, so Tim made sure to get to bed early the night before. This type of documentary shoot is his favorite, “running around and shooting anything and everything that catches my eye,” he says. And in this parade, there is a lot to catch the eye. The marchers dress in fantastic garments to emulate the King or one of his four Dukes. Tim went in with the desire to capture the great costumes and expressions that come out during Mardi Gras.
It’s such a photogenic parade with all the colors and so many characters.
Some of the origins of the Zulus can also be traced to members of one of New Orleans’ Benevolent Aid Societies, groups that made up the first form of health insurance in the black community. The Benevolent Aid Society would give aid to members who were sick or had deceased family members to bury. The Zulu tradition of culture mixing still stands today. Tim says he encountered people of all kinds, everyone having a party of their own. He personally made his way with a group that had a dj set on a rolling cart. They played music through the day, and ignited dance parties with the people around them.
Despite Tim’s schedule with more strict campaigns, he plans to keep making time to shoot the city of New Orleans while he’s there in the years to come, capturing the events and the spirit of the people.
To view more of Tim’s work, visit timblackphoto.com.