Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from Radiotopia.

My name is Jody Avergan.

This day, March 1st, 1992, New Orleans as it does every early March, is getting ready for Mardi Gras.

The routes are being finalized, the costumes prepared, the various crews that performed during the festivities,

planning, everything that they'll need to plan for the marches.

This was the 136th annual Mardi Gras, but something was different in 1992, and that's because this was the first Mardi Gras since a local city council ordinance passed banning

discrimination among the various crews. Mardi Gras crews are basically the fundamental building

block of the celebration these social groups and

civic organizations that get together to do floats and coordinate costumes and generally crews had

been segregated but now a unanimous city council vote said that any crew that

refused to integrate would quote be denied city services and parade permits and

would require jail time and fines.

So that's what we're talking about here.

The first integrated, at least in a legal sense,

and we'll get into all the very complicated ways

that this actually played out,

the very first legally mandated Mardiardi Gras here to discuss that as always

are Nicole Hemmer of Columbia and Kelly Carter Jackson of Wellesley. Hello there.

Hello Jody.

Hey there and we're very pleased to welcome our special guests for this

episode in New Orleans right now Oliver Thomas longtime New Orleans City Councilman

also poet actor in the series Tremay, radio hosts, lots of other stuff and a fixture in New Orleans for many, many years.

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