Zulu parade: celebration or cultural misappropriation?

What began as an inside joke now plays out on a global stage

- NCO DUBE

THE annual Zulu parade in New Orleans in the United States presents a complex cultural paradox that bridges continents and centuries.

What began as a local act of Black American resistance has evolved into a global conversation about cultural representation, appropriation, and the fluid nature of identity in the African diaspora. This article examines the multiple dimensions of this controversy, from its historical roots in Louisiana to its contemporary reception in KwaZulu-Natal, and considers pathways for respectful cultural exchange.

Historical context

The Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club established its iconic parade in 1909 against the backdrop of Jim Crow-era New Orleans. At a time when Black Americans were systematically excluded from official Mardi Gras celebrations, the Zulu parade emerged as both protest and parody. The founders deliberately exaggerated racist stereotypes about Africa - the grass skirts, the blackface, the mock "tribal" regalia to lampoon white Americans' exoticised fantasies of the continent.

Dr LaKisha Simmons, a New Orleans historian, explains: "This was survival humour at its sharpest. By taking racist caricatures to absurd extremes, Black New Orleanians were asserting control over their own representation."

The parade's signature throw - decorated coconuts as faux royal jewels - perfectly encapsulated this satirical spirit, transforming something ordinary into a tongue-in-cheek symbol of imagined African royalty.

However, this local context has become increasingly obscured as the parade gained international attention. What began as an inside joke within a specific Black American community now plays out on a global stage where the cultural references land very differently.