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Here in Mobile, Alabama — the original birthplace of American Mardi Gras — more than 92,000 revelers lined the streets to watch the Conde Cavalier parade, and many more are expected to crowd downtown for this week’s seemingly endless parades, culminating with Fat Tuesday. But all of the bead-tossing revelry and bejeweled masks can Turned out that the old city, where early settlers first celebrated Mardi Gras in 1703 and where the first slave ship docked with its sad human cargo in 1721, was home to two carnivals - one white The Order of Myths is a captivating documentary film that delves into the rich historical traditions of Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama. Directed by Margaret Brown, this 2008 film explores the deeply ingrained racial segregation that persists in the city’s Mardi Gras celebrations. Segregation in Mobile’s Mardi Gras . Parts of Mobile’s Mardi Gras celebrations continue to have long-standing customs that date back to the days of segregation. (We have no written or direct knowledge of this other than what we can see and experience as observers). The Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (formerly named the Colored Carnival Stefannie Lucas is the black Mobile Mardi Gras Queen of 2007. She is a teacher at Maryvale Elementary School in a neighborhood that has an 80 percent poverty rate. During February—when most of Mardi Gras takes place and which is also Black History Month—Stefannie teaches the fifth-graders about segregation in the South. In 2008, the Order of Myths documentary, named after Mobile’s oldest Mardi Gras society, was released to critical acclaim. It revealed how the different carnival societies within white and Black Mardi Gras were tied to socioeconomics and racial stratification, but it also showed the first signs of change as the Black and White groups began to interact and mix. One of the best stories in Mobile is the story of the beloved Excelsior Band. Founded on November 23, 1883, the African American brass band is believed to be the oldest marching jazz band in the United States. The band marched in their first Mardi Gras parade in 1884 and still leads Mobile’s parades every single year. Few people outside of the South know that the first Mardi Gras celebration was held in Mobile, Alabama in 1703, 15 years before New Orleans was a city. A 2008 documentary, The Order of Myths, chronicles the politics of the town’s Mardi Gras celebration today, which remains almost entirely segregated by race. The black and white communities Mardi Gras is a time-honored tradition in Mobile, Alabama. For years, the city has celebrated the holiday with elaborate parades and parties. But some residents say that Mobile’s Mardi Gras celebrations are segregated. African Americans make up a large percentage of the city’s population, but they say they are often excluded from the The city of Mobile, Alabama’s Mardi Gras celebrations is even older than New Orleans – and they’re also segregated into a black Mardi Gras and a white Mardi Gras. A new documentary, "The An organization that educates while letting the good times roll is the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (MAMGA). Founded in 1938, this esteemed society has played a pivotal role in shaping and preserving the cultural richness of Mobile's Mardi Gras traditions. Mobile Real-Time News; Is the racial divide of Mardi Gras voluntary, and here to stay? Published: ; Feb. 15, 2015, 12:00 p.m. MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Mobile is Mardi Gras. “1703 is when Mardi Gras started here in Mobile,” said Marcus Catchings, a spokesperson for the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (MAMGA). Mobile Carnival poster from 1900. Floats lining up for an Order of Inca parade in 2007. Mardi Gras is the annual Carnival celebration in Mobile, Alabama.It is the oldest official Carnival celebration in the United States, started by Frenchman Nicholas Langlois in 1703 when Mobile was the capital of Louisiana. Celebrate Mardi Gras in style with Mobile's vibrant parades, live music, and rich traditions! Parades start February 14th—discover event schedules and everything you need to enjoy the best Mardi Gras experience in Mobile, Alabama News For local news story in the Mobile Alabama Bay Area, this is where you want to come. Things To Do; Mardi Gras This is for all things Mardi Gras related along the Gulf Coast. Local Businesses If you live in the Mobile, Alabama region and you’re looking for a certain type of business, this is the category for you. In 1957, however, a group of wealthy businessmen decided to reshape and formalize Mardi Gras in New Orleans, drawing inspiration from the secret societies that orchestrated the Carnival celebration in Mobile, Alabama. These men formed the Mistick Krewe of Comus and presented a highly organized alternative to the old celebrations, parading on And in Mobile, Alabama, Mardi Gras isn’t just a celebration—it’s a lifestyle. Mobile is the birthplace of Mardi Gras in the US, launching the tradition some 16 years before it marched over to New Orleans, and while many outsiders have long forgotten that Mobile still hosts the original Mardi Gras, Mobile certainly hasn’t. Some historians say Mobile, Ala., is home to the oldest Mardi Gras celebration in the country. But there have always been two Fat Tuesday festivities in the city — one for blacks and one for whites.
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