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Mardi Gras Essay

Decent Essays

Festivity, laughter, and lively fun are the words that come to mind when one imagines the Mardi Gras celebration in Mobile, Alabama. The celebration of Mardi Gras is known to be spirited and full of partying. Although that is a true statement, the celebration of Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama has managed to mask one of its lasting problems-racism. The issues of racism are prevalent in many aspects of the Mardi Gras festival past and present such as the separate Mardi Gras groups between the black and white individuals in the community, the forced segregation between the two Mardi Gras groups, and the restrictions put on people of African descent from being a part of the MCA parade unless they were a worker or dancer as revealed by the …show more content…

However, then it was more severe and blatant as revealed by the documentary, which presented an individual recalling a past conversation with an interracial couple that wanted to attend the MCA or predominantly white ball, but was told that they could not go together since the woman in the relationship was black and the MCA did not allow for her to appear at the ball. While that situation of racism was harsh, the MCA has become more open towards integration as revealed by the documentary “Order of Myths,” which showed the MAMGA royalty at the MCA coronation. That was a major leap towards integration between the two groups as it was said in the video that that had never occurred before. When the MAMGA royalty arrived, they were treated with respect and catered to as if they truly were royalty, which shows that the groups have made major progress in unification, however, there is still a lot more progress that needs to be made.
Today, the two groups have separate parades, which restrict primarily all African-Americans from being a part of the MCA parade unless they are a worker or dancer. The constraint placed on African American people is essentially unnecessary since the parades showcase the same general cultural practices as revealed in “Order of Myths.” Yet, the African-Americans are not allowed to have a strong role within the MCA parade, which is ridiculous since people cannot hide behind the idea that it is

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