Yes, Keith, Mardi Gras is a little difficult to understand if you're not here. Even some of the newer transplants have trouble getting their heads around its dynamics. But what you see on TV is just the front side of a very complex, very important social event that would require a weeklong miniseries to accurately convey to the rest of the country.
As I've said before, New Orleans' politics are determined by the krewes--which are, in a way, kinda like dozens of individual country clubs, minus the swimming pools and par-fives. Or maybe the fraternity/sorority analogy works better. In any case, I think this article does a pretty good job of explaining it:
Until the late 1960s, there were separate parade routes for whites and blacks. Those no longer exist, although [the Krewe of] Zulu still winds through some traditionally black neighborhoods not visited by many other krewes.
"There are parallel parties going on, but it's not something where the intent is no whites are welcome or no blacks are welcome," says Ed Muniz, a captain of the Krewe of Endymion, which was formed 36 years ago and is considered one of the more racially progressive parade clubs.
Edwin Lombard, who became one of the first black members of Endymion when he joined 25 years ago, said the separation may have little to do with skin color. Older clubs consist of blue bloods who have little in common with the middle-class or nouveau riche, he said.
"I have nothing to talk about with anyone in Rex," Lombard says. "What would we talk about? The cotton market?"
