Walking Raddy

Walking Raddy PDF Author: Kim Vaz-Deville
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 1496817419
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
Contributions by Jennifer Atkins, Vashni Balleste, Mora J. Beauchamp-Byrd, Ron Bechet, Melanie Bratcher, Jerry Brock, Ann Bruce, Violet Harrington Bryan, Rachel Carrico, Sarah Anita Clunis, Phillip Colwart, Keith Duncan, Rob Florence, Pamela R. Franco, Daniele Gair, Meryt Harding, Megan Holt, DeriAnne Meilleur Honora, Marielle Jeanpierre, Ulrick Jean-Pierre, Jessica Marie Johnson, Karen La Beau, D. Lammie-Hanson, Karen Trahan Leathem, Charles Lovell, Annie Odell, Ruth Owens, Steve Prince, Nathan "Nu'Awlons Natescott" Haynes Scott, LaKisha Michelle Simmons, Tia L. Smith, Gailene McGhee St.Amand, and Kim Vaz-Deville Since 2004, the Baby Doll Mardi Gras tradition in New Orleans has gone from an obscure, almost forgotten practice to a flourishing cultural force. The original Baby Dolls were groups of black women, and some men, in the early Jim Crow era who adopted New Orleans street masking tradition as a unique form of fun and self-expression against a backdrop of racial discrimination. Wearing short dresses, bloomers, bonnets, and garters with money tucked tight, they strutted, sang ribald songs, chanted, and danced on Mardi Gras Day and on St. Joseph feast night. Today's Baby Dolls continue the tradition of one of the first street women's masking and marching groups in the United States. They joyfully and unabashedly defy gender roles, claiming public space and proclaiming through their performance their right to social citizenship. Essayists draw on interviews, theoretical perspectives, archival material, and historical assessments to describe women's cultural performances that take place on the streets of New Orleans. They recount the history and contemporary resurgence of the Baby Dolls while delving into the larger cultural meaning of the phenomenon. Over 140 color photographs and personal narratives of immersive experiences provide passionate testimony of the impact of the Baby Dolls on their audiences. Fifteen artists offer statements regarding their work documenting and inspired by the tradition as it stimulates their imagination to present a practice that revitalizes the spirit.

Walking Raddy

Walking Raddy PDF Author: Kim Vaz-Deville
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 1496817419
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 428

Get Book Here

Book Description
Contributions by Jennifer Atkins, Vashni Balleste, Mora J. Beauchamp-Byrd, Ron Bechet, Melanie Bratcher, Jerry Brock, Ann Bruce, Violet Harrington Bryan, Rachel Carrico, Sarah Anita Clunis, Phillip Colwart, Keith Duncan, Rob Florence, Pamela R. Franco, Daniele Gair, Meryt Harding, Megan Holt, DeriAnne Meilleur Honora, Marielle Jeanpierre, Ulrick Jean-Pierre, Jessica Marie Johnson, Karen La Beau, D. Lammie-Hanson, Karen Trahan Leathem, Charles Lovell, Annie Odell, Ruth Owens, Steve Prince, Nathan "Nu'Awlons Natescott" Haynes Scott, LaKisha Michelle Simmons, Tia L. Smith, Gailene McGhee St.Amand, and Kim Vaz-Deville Since 2004, the Baby Doll Mardi Gras tradition in New Orleans has gone from an obscure, almost forgotten practice to a flourishing cultural force. The original Baby Dolls were groups of black women, and some men, in the early Jim Crow era who adopted New Orleans street masking tradition as a unique form of fun and self-expression against a backdrop of racial discrimination. Wearing short dresses, bloomers, bonnets, and garters with money tucked tight, they strutted, sang ribald songs, chanted, and danced on Mardi Gras Day and on St. Joseph feast night. Today's Baby Dolls continue the tradition of one of the first street women's masking and marching groups in the United States. They joyfully and unabashedly defy gender roles, claiming public space and proclaiming through their performance their right to social citizenship. Essayists draw on interviews, theoretical perspectives, archival material, and historical assessments to describe women's cultural performances that take place on the streets of New Orleans. They recount the history and contemporary resurgence of the Baby Dolls while delving into the larger cultural meaning of the phenomenon. Over 140 color photographs and personal narratives of immersive experiences provide passionate testimony of the impact of the Baby Dolls on their audiences. Fifteen artists offer statements regarding their work documenting and inspired by the tradition as it stimulates their imagination to present a practice that revitalizes the spirit.

The 'Baby Dolls'

The 'Baby Dolls' PDF Author: Kim Marie Vaz
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 080715072X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
One of the first women's organizations to mask and perform during Mardi Gras, the Million Dollar Baby Dolls redefined the New Orleans carnival tradition. Tracing their origins from Storyville-era brothels and dance halls to their re-emergence in post-Katrina New Orleans, author Kim Marie Vaz uncovers the fascinating history of the "raddy-walking, shake-dancing, cigar-smoking, money-flinging" ladies who strutted their way into a predominantly male establishment. The Baby Dolls formed around 1912 as an organization of African American women who used their profits from working in New Orleans's red-light district to compete with other Black prostitutes on Mardi Gras. Part of this event involved the tradition of masking, in which carnival groups create a collective identity through costuming. Their baby doll costumes -- short satin dresses, stockings with garters, and bonnets -- set against a bold and provocative public behavior not only exploited stereotypes but also empowered and made visible an otherwise marginalized female demographic. Over time, different neighborhoods adopted the Baby Doll tradition, stirring the creative imagination of Black women and men across New Orleans, from the downtown Trem area to the uptown community of Mahalia Jackson. Vaz follows the Baby Doll phenomenon through one hundred years with photos, articles, and interviews and concludes with the birth of contemporary groups, emphasizing these organizations' crucial contribution to Louisiana's cultural history.

The "Baby Dolls"

The Author: Kim Marie Vaz
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807150711
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
One of the first women’s organizations to “mask” in a Mardi Gras parade, the “Million Dollar Baby Dolls” redefined the New Orleans carnival tradition. Tracing their origins from Storyville brothels and dance halls to their re-emergence in post-Katrina New Orleans, author Kim Vaz uncovers the fascinating history of the “raddy-walking, shake-dancing, cigar-smoking, money-flinging” ladies that strutted their way into a predominantly male establishment. The Baby Dolls formed around 1912 as an organization for African American women who used their profits from working in New Orleans’s red-light district to compete with other black women in their profession on Mardi Gras. Part of this competition involved the tradition of masking in which carnival groups create a collective identity through costuming. Their baby doll costumes—short satin dresses, stockings with garters, and bonnets—set against their bold and provocative public behavior not only exploited stereotypes but also empowered and made visible an otherwise marginalized demographic of women. In addition to their subversive presence at Mardi Gras, the Baby Dolls helped shape the sound of jazz in the city. The Baby Dolls often worked in and patronized dance halls and honky-tonks, where they introduced new dance steps and challenged house musicians to keep up the beat. The entrepreneurial Baby Dolls also sponsored dances with live jazz bands, effectively underwriting the advancement of an art form now inseparable from New Orleans’s identity. Over time, the Baby Doll’s members diverged as different neighborhoods adopted the tradition. Groups such as the Golden Slipper Club, the Gold Diggers, the Rosebud Social and Pleasure Club, and the Satin Sinners stirred the creative imagination of middle-class Black women and men across New Orleans, from the downtown Tremé area to the uptown community of Mahalia Jackson. Vaz follows the Baby Doll phenomenon through one hundred years of photos, articles, and interviews to conclude with the birth of contemporary groups such as the modern day Antoinette K-Doe’s Ernie K-Doe Baby Dolls, the New Orleans Society of Dance’s Baby Doll Ladies, and the Tremé Million Dollar Baby Dolls. Her book celebrates these organizations’ crucial contribution to Louisiana’s cultural history.

Dictionary of American Regional English: P-Sk

Dictionary of American Regional English: P-Sk PDF Author: Frederic G. Cassidy
Publisher: Belknap Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1048

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Book Description
A compendium of words, phrases, and local meanings has been culled from years of research, using thousands of interviews with representative American communities. Online index is at http://dare.wisc.edu/?q=node/18.

Lords of Misrule

Lords of Misrule PDF Author: James Gill
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 9781604736380
Category : Carnival
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
"Mardi Gras remains one of the most distinctive features of New Orleans. Although the city has celerated Carnival since its days as a French and Spanish colonial outpost, the rituals familiar today were largely established in the Civil War era by a white male elite." -- back cover.

New Orleans Style

New Orleans Style PDF Author: Andi Eaton
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1625851731
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
After more than three hundred years, New Orleans style is not just sartorial but also venerable. A melting pot of cultures gives rise to the diverse fashion influences of French sophistication, Spanish exuberance and deep Creole roots. Classic trends like jazz style, the ebullient irreverence of Mardi Gras' festive fashion and seersucker's cool lines are quintessentially New Orleans. The local aesthetic established by the keen eyes at Maison Blanche and D.H. Holmes, master haberdashers at Rubensteins, milliners like Yvonne LaFleur and perfumers Hove Parfumeur formed a foundation on which the city's rising stars reinvigorate and build a new fashion capital. Join author and designer Andi Eaton and discover the Big Easy's stylish legacy and a new side of New Orleans.

Caribbean Quarterly

Caribbean Quarterly PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Caribbean Area
Languages : en
Pages : 678

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Book Description


The Golden Crown

The Golden Crown PDF Author: Clarence Williams Jr.
Publisher: Page Publishing Inc
ISBN: 168409755X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
The Golden Crown: A Story of Black New Orleans, is centered mainly on a working-class New Orleans family. Henderson Brooks, the youngest of three brothers, is a riverfront foreman with a wife and three children. He is also chief of the Downtown Warriors, a Mardi Gras Indian tribe that parades every Mardi Gras Day. His tribe is in competition with at least thirty tribes about the city for splendor and innovation in costume design. His father and grandfather were Downtown Warrior chiefs before him, and his grandfather founded the tribe in 1918. For the Warriors’ fiftieth anniversary he is determined to create a special costume to mark the milestone, one that would be his greatest achievement ever. Yet so many obstacles get in his way that for a time he is doubtful about being able to mask at all. Never in the history of the Downtown Warriors has a chief failed to make his designated appearance. Henderson’s older brother, R.C., has recently returned to the streets after serving six years in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary for drug offenses. He falls back into the habit as soon as he is released. His middle brother, Chatman, a riverfront executive, has two sons who are also involved with heroin. His oldest, Spence, returns from Vietnam addicted, and finds his younger brother, Mike, using as well. R.C. vows that he will never associate with his nephews in the drug life, but unexpected events force him to do otherwise, with tragic results. Along with the Vietnam War, where black men are dying in combat in numbers far out of proportion to their presence in the American population, the heroin epidemic, running unchecked, is decimating inner-city black communities throughout the country. New Orleans is not spared. Henderson’s Seventh Ward community, known as the Ramp, under the able leadership of its parent organization, the Bamboula Club, is fighting back, and by any means necessary. They have dedicated the 1968 Mardi Gras Indian ritual to the complete eradication of the heroin menace from their community. This leaves Henderson with a confused understanding of his responsibilities in dealing with the crisis, as three of the main players are his brother and nephews. Yet by the time he completes his costume he has grown in ways he couldn’t have imagined and is able to meet all challenges when his priorities and allegiances are tested. The story is told through colorful characters and deals candidly with the racial realities of New Orleans and its history. It highlights not only the Mardi Gras Indian culture but other elements of the complex black New Orleans culture as well.

With the Russian Pilgrims to Jerusalem

With the Russian Pilgrims to Jerusalem PDF Author: Stephen Graham
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Palestine
Languages : en
Pages : 410

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Book Description


Whiskey, Women, and War

Whiskey, Women, and War PDF Author: Brian Altobello
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 1496835107
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
As the US entered World War I in 1917, a burst of patriotism in New Orleans collided with civil liberties. The city, due to its French heritage, shared a strong cultural tie to the Allies, and French speakers from Louisiana provided vital technical assistance to the US military during the war effort. Meanwhile, citizens of German heritage were harassed by unscrupulous, ill-trained volunteers of the American Protective League, ordained by the Justice Department to shield America from enemies within. As a major port, the wartime mobilization dramatically reshaped the cultural landscape of the city in ways that altered the national culture, especially as jazz musicians spread outward from the vice districts. Whiskey, Women, and War: How the Great War Shaped Jim Crow New Orleans surveys the various ways the city confronted the demands of World War I under the supervision of a dynamic political machine boss. Author Brian Altobello analyzes the mobilization of the local population in terms of enlistments and war bond sales and addresses the anti-vice crusade meant to safeguard the American war effort, giving attention to Prohibition and the closure of the red-light district known as Storyville. He studies the political fistfight over women’s suffrage, as New Orleans’s Gordon sisters demanded the vote predicated on the preservation of white supremacy. Finally, he examines race relations in the city, as African Americans were integrated into the city’s war effort and cultural landscape even as Jim Crow was firmly established. Ultimately, the volume brings to life this history of a city that endured World War I in its own singular style.