Zulu reaches new heights in popularity, community service
16th February 2015 · 0 Comments
McDonogh 35 and SU alum is krewe’s 100th king
It’s Carnival time and all eyes in the City That Care Forgot are on what has become one of Mardi Gras’ most popular attractions: The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club.
Excitement and anticipation continue to grow as the spirited Carnival krewe prepares to crown its 100th king, King Zulu Andrew “Pete” Sanchez Jr.
Despite its humble beginnings in the Big Easy more than a century ago, the all-male Black Carnival organization has become a favorite of tourists and locals alike as much for its coveted decorated coconuts as for its devil-may-care attitude, historical legacy and old-fashioned swag.
To know Zulu is to love Zulu, but to know Zulu you have to go all the way back to the turn of the 20th century when New Orleans was still evolving and growing into the cultural phenomenon and historical gem it is today.
In 1908, John L. Metoyer and members of a New Orleans mutual aid society called “The Tramps” attended a vaudevillian comedy show called, “There Never Was and Never Will Be a King Like Me.” The musical comedy performed by the “Smart Set” at the Pythian Temple Theater on the corner of Gravier and Saratoga streets in New Orleans included a skit where the characters wore grass skirts and dressed in blackface. Metoyer became inspired by the skit and reorganized his marching troupe from baggy-pant-wearing tramps to a new group called the “Zulus.” In 1909, Metoyer and the first Zulu king, William Story, wore a lard-can crown and carried a banana stalk as a scepter. Six years later in 1915, the first decorated platform was constructed with dry-goods boxes on a spring wagon. The King’s float was decorated with tree moss and palmetto leaves.
In 1916, Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club became incorporated where the organization’s bylaws were established as well as its social mission and dedication to benevolence and goodwill.
In 1933, the Lady Zulu Auxiliary was formed by the wives of Zulu members, and in 1948, Edwina Robertson became the first Queen of Zulu, making the club the first to feature a queen in a parade.
In the 1960s, membership dwindled as a result of social pressures from civil rights activists. The protesters advertised in the local Black community’s newspaper, The Louisiana Weekly stating:
“We, the Negroes of New Orleans, are in the midst of a fight for our rights and for a recognition of our human dignity which underlies those rights. Therefore, we resent and repudiate the Zulu Parade, in which Negroes are paid by white merchants to wander through the city drinking to excess, dressed as uncivilized savages and throwing cocoanuts like monkeys. This caricature does not represent Us. Rather, it represents a warped picture against us. Therefore, we petition all citizens of New Orleans to boycott the Zulu Parade. If we want respect from others, we must first demand it from ourselves.”
The krewe, with support of the mayor and police chief, refused to fall from pressures and continued to parade, but gave up blackfacing, wearing grass skirts, and kept the identity of the king secret. Due to continued pressures, by 1965, there were only 15 Zulu members remaining. The membership of local civil rights leaders Ernest J. Wright and Morris F.X. Jeff, Sr. into Zulu, eventually lifted tensions and membership started to increase and the krewe resumed their old traditions including blackface.
In 1973, Roy E. “Glap” Glapion, Jr., Zulu president from 1973 to 1988, started recruiting professionals, educators and prominent businessmen from all ethnic backgrounds to fill its membership — making Zulu the first parading organization to racially integrate.
The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club is well-known to parade goers for throwing coconuts, called the “Golden Nugget,” to the throngs of Mardi Gras revelers. In the early 1900s, other parading organizations threw fancy glass necklaces that were handmade and expensive. The working men of Zulu could not afford expensive treats, but still wanted to give a special prize to lucky parade goers. The men decided to purchase coconuts from the French Market because they were unique and inexpensive. Painted and adorned coconuts became popular with the club starting in the late 1940s. In 1987, the organization was unable to renew its insurance coverage. Mounting lawsuits stemming from coconut-related injuries, forced a halt to the longstanding tradition of throwing coconuts. In 1988, Governor Edwin Edwards signed Louisiana State Bill #SB188, the “Coconut Bill,” into law removing liability from injuries resulting from a coconut — enabling the tradition to resume.
On Wednesday, February 11, Zulu celebrated its place in the state’s history by receiving a Louisiana historical marker outside its 7th Ward headquarters. The marker officially designates the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club as a historic organization in the state.
“The marker means that Zulu will finally take its rightful place in Louisiana history,” Zulu Historian Emeritus Clarence Becknell told The Louisiana Weekly Wednesday. “We have told our story the right way and the correct way.”
This designation is a milestone for the 106-year-old organization, whose annual activities and community outreach programs extend far beyond Carnival parties, parading and second lines.
The popular organization now hosts health fairs, food giveaways, a golf tournament and a toy giveaway. King Zulu Andrew “Pete” Sanchez Jr. grew up in the Lower Ninth Ward and attended John W. Hoffman Elementary School, Alfred J. Lawless Junior High School and McDonogh #35 Senior High School. He developed a love for music at a young age, learning to play the trumpet at Hoffman, continuing to play trumpet at Lawless, switching to French Horn at McDonogh 35 and later playing E flat horning as a member of Southern University’s Human Jukebox.
Under the tutelage of McD 35 band director Lloyd Harris, Sanchez’s leadership began to blossom, leading to the selection of Pete and his twin sister Andrea to share drum major duties in their junior and senior years, along with a third drum major, Stafford Carter.
“It was a lot of fun,” Sanchez told The Louisiana Weekly in a recent interview. “Between the three of us, we’d come up with all types of dance routines for halftime and we had a small routine for Carnival parades. When we were coming down the street, we’d stop and do a step…We’d have a step going down the street.
“Anybody that was in school during that era knew us,” Sanchez added.
Sanchez is a strong advocate for arts in education and believes that greater support for music education in the public school system would yield great benefits to young people and the community as a whole.
“There’s just a lack of focus on music education,” He said. “If more emphasis was placed on these schools’ music, I think it would capture more children and give children interests that they would cherish for a lifetime.”
Standing firmly at his side is Queen Zulu-select. Dr. Janice T. Sanchez, the longtime wife of Sanchez, an educator and a constant source of wisdom, strength and inspiration for the king.
“I started off in the New Orleans public schools, finished from Booker T. Washington High School and then I went into my higher education at the University of New Orleans, Nicholls State and I finished from Southern University with a Ph.D in mathematics and science education,” Queen Zulu-select Dr. Janice T. Sanchez told FOX 8 News in a recent interview. “I want to encourage all young people that they can do the same.”
King Zulu Pete Sanchez spoke with pride about Zulu’s international acclaim and the strides it has made since it was founded more than a century ago.
“That international popularity helps us to understand how far we’ve come as an organization,” he told The Louisiana Weekly. “Keep in mind that there was a time we couldn’t parade on St. Charles Avenue. There was a time when we couldn’t own a building that we call the Zulu Home. Not only were we able to get in Zulu Home and flourish, since then we’ve built another building where we have meetings and conduct business.
“We’ve come a long way — and that we’re proud of.”
Zulu is a family affair for Sanchez, who joined the organization 18 years ago. His father, Pete Sr., was Big Shot in 1977, his uncle Murphy Sanchez, was Big Shot in 1985 and his sister, cousin, daughter and several nieces were all Zulu Maids.
Sanchez said that in the months leading up to Carnival Season, there is seldom time to rest for Zulu members and their families. “There’s no such thing as rest,” he told The Louisiana Weekly. “There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes.” Sanchez noted that he is especially proud that during his 12-month reign as King Zulu, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. will hold its International Grand Chapter Conclave in the Crescent City. The conclave will take place in New Orleans this summer.
Deven Collins, one of Sanchez’s fraternity brothers and a fellow McDonogh 35 grad, said he is very proud of Sanchez’s successful bid to become Zulu’s top ruler. “If anybody deserves it, he does,” Collins told The Louisiana Weekly. “I can’t think of anybody that deserves it more. He’s one of the nicest, most humble and hard-working cats you will ever meet.”
“I’s a blessing — it’s very exciting,” Sanchez said when asked how it feels to have been elected Zulu King. “There is no better feeling. There is no better feeling because I’ve worked in the club, I’ve served in the club.
“To be King Zulu is an honor and a privilege,” Sanchez continued. “I always tell that to the members — ‘I thank you all for electing me because it is an honor and a privilege.’”
No stranger to hard work, Sanchez is a member of Zulu’s Board of Directors and served as Chairman of Carnival Activities for 10 years.
In addition to Zulu, Pete Sanchez is a member of band fraternity Kappa Kappa Psi Fraternity Inc. and the Alpha Sigma Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., both of which he joined at Southern. He is currently a Life Member of both of those organizations. Sanchez is also a member of the Lower Ninth Ward Neighborhood Council and a board member of the city’s Zoning Adjustments (Board).
What is King Zulu Pete Sanchez’s Mardi Gras wish for the people of New Orleans?
“I want them to come out ask for as many coconuts as they can, catch as many beads and have a happy Zulu Mardi Gras time,” he told The Louisiana Weekly.
Additional reporting by Louisiana Weekly editor Edmund W. Lewis.
This article originally published in the February 16, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
