For some, a trip to New Orleans rarely ventures beyond the tourist-heavy French Quarter. The oldest area of settlement in the city is crammed with historical buildings, luscious cuisine and a rockin’ good time. But walk just beyond the Quarter’s boundaries into the Faubourg Tremé, and visitors can get a close-up look at the rich history of the city’s African-American traditions.
The nation’s oldest African-American residential district, the Tremé has been the site of significant cultural, economic and political events that over the past two centuries have shaped the course of events in Black America and helped define New Orleans culture. And now, this Crescent City community is the subject of The Wire creator David Simon’s new HBO drama series.
The highly-anticipated Treme premieres tonight at 10 p.m. EST.
While the show is expected to give viewers a dramatic inside look at the neighborhood, in real life the best place in the city to get a crash course in the cultural traditions of New Orleans’ African-American society is the Backstreet Cultural Museum. For the past 10 years, the Creole cottage (which once served as the Blandin Funeral Home) has housed a collection of artifacts, photos and film focused on Mardi Gras Indians, jazz funerals and social aid and pleasure clubs.
But the museum’s involvement in the community doesn’t end with just exhibits and education. It’s become a main hub for cultural events for the city — from presenting and hosting programs, to its annual open house on Mardi Gras.
Executive Director Sylvester Francis has spent over 25 years documenting the urban cultural traditions of New Orleans, and has film from more than 500 jazz funerals as well as more than 3,000 photos of Mardi Gras Indians, social aid and pleasure clubs, and brass band musicians. A recent Ford Foundation grant is now allowing Francis to expand the museum to include a building next door, as well as a new structure, which will showcase much of the video treasures from his collection.
Unmasking Traditions
“Masking Indian” has been a New Orleans tradition for over 100 years, and served as a method for African-Americans to celebrate their own culture. Some say that slaves seeking freedom escaped to the forests to live with Native Americans. Others believe that touring Wild West shows influenced the Mardi Gras Indians. In years past, the groups fought when they encountered each other in the street. But now, tribes welcome each other with dance, songs and inspection of each other’s “new suits.”
From Creole Wild West to 9th Ward Hunters, Fi-Yi-Yi to Wild Magnolias, the tribal costumes take the better part of a year to construct-all by hand. “They usually know how it’ll look before they put it together,” said Francis. “But they gotta take a break after Mardi Gras before they begin sewing for next year.” Each suit can weight up to 100 pounds and cost thousands of dollars to assemble.
Robert Francis, Sylvester’s brother, showed me some of the suits on display in the museum. The jewel box sparkle of sequins, faux gemstones, metal and crystal seemed to light the room. But alone, they’d be singing only melody without the harmony of pearls, cowrie shells and the rainbow of seed beads.
Not to be outdone by the parade of embellishments, the fabric is equally attention-grabbing: velvet, satin, silk, yarn and cardboard (to make 3-D figures “pop”). And finally, the feathers. No suit is complete without them. Each Indian makes his own suit, sometimes with the help of family or others within the tribe. Robert Francis estimates that he works on about three suits per year, and showed me how he starts sewing the different patches used to make up a suit.
Mardi Gras Indians parade only a few times each year: Mardi Gras, St. Joseph’s Day and Super Sunday. The Backstreet Cultural Museum is often a spot where you can spy Indians during these times. Last year, I had the unforgettable experience of watching Donald Harrison Jr., Big Chief of the Congo Nation (in blue, above), sing to the crowd assembled in the street outside the museum.
A good community looks out for its people, and social aid and pleasure clubs were created in that spirit. Insurance companies didn’t want “colored” customers, so these benevolent societies helped African-Americans pay for their medical and burial expenses. While these organizations are no longer needed as sources for health insurance, they still serve a benevolent social function through service, events 
and networking opportunities.
During second line season (which runs for about 42 weeks), there is a second line parade scheduled every Sunday, featuring a different social aid and pleasure club. All club members are decked out in color-coordinated outfits with umbrellas and feathered fans. They, and the brass band that follows them, form the first line of the parade. The crowd of onlookers that joins and follows the parade along its route forms the second line — the origin of the term. The second line comes into play in jazz funerals as well, another good employment opportunity for brass band musicians.
While it’s ideal to catch any of these events on a trip to New Orleans, you can always get a personal tour and first-class education from the folks at the Backstreet Cultural Museum nearly any day of the year. Better yet, become a member during your visit, and you can get regular emails on upcoming events in the community — perfect things around which to plan your next visit to the Crescent City.
Photos courtesy of Jill K. Robinson.