While I appreciate what you’re saying and recognize a lot of truths in this video, not everything was entirely accurate and I think it might’ve fallen short on acknowledging what Mardi Gras even is or how New Orleans celebrates it today. As a New Orleans native and an active member and rider of a long-standing incredibly popular uptown krewe, royalty is such a small part of Mardi Gras and the krewes themselves. No one outside (or really even inside, unless you’re participating in a single night of festivities) of the organization is affected by the individuals at all. It’s quite literally just a costume that’s usually passed down through families. Yes, it’s unfortunate that those families are majority white, but if you look at the other 95% of krewes, the ones that locals actually care about, their kings, queens, pages, maids, captains, dukes, etc are all people of different backgrounds who are voted into their roles by the krewe members. You also failed entirely to acknowledge Zulu, Mardi Gras Indians, flambeaux, etc and their incredibly beautiful and influential history. No one actually “honors” these people. They clap when they walk onto a stage because it’s fun for everyone to participate in an imaginative experience. They don’t give a shit who is actually walking on the stage. You also should’ve mentioned the fact that it is literally a Louisiana state law for krewe members to wear masks to conceal their identity while riding to emphasize the fact that Mardi Gras is not meant to put anyone on a pedestal and allow people from all social and economic walks of life to be seen as the same during the season. I mean it is literally a written state law and as a rider I would get fined hundreds of dollars and kicked out the krewe for not wearing a mask. Also, as an ending point and something that you literally said, comus has not ridden in YEARS. No one cares unless they are in the krewe. New generations of nola natives don’t even know what comus is unless they are intentionally looking it up. Mardi Gras is a city wide celebration of everyone and to call it a white supremacist event is ignorant and uncalled for. This is coming from a super liberal college student as well. Some of these points were true, but overall this video is a reach and these people are just hoping to keep a long standing tradition alive as an homage to the city and their heritage. No one is participating maliciously.
The ordinance was idiocy. Let's punish people for providing the worlds largest, longest free celebration. That's what it was. And you can tell it was meant as punishment because the Rex organization is included in the derision even though they went along with the ordinance --like all the krewes praised in the video-- right from the start. And here's the facts --no one knows if Comus is integrated except members of Comus. And they refuse to say. But there are black people who attend the Comus ball. And why is it that the kings and queens and debutantes of the black krewes don't get derided for THEIR pageantry? Why are you not deriding the king of Zulu? Or THEIR courts? ALL the krewes who put on those parades an balls spend a lot of money to give the people --ALL the people of New Orleans, not to mention millions of visitors, a great Carnival season. Because of you, and people like you, Mardi Gras day has been missing it's final parade for decades --and the slot in which Comus rolled has remained empty. Far from the hate and boycotts you want to spread, the city needs to apologize to Comus and all the krewes for what they did and ask them all to return to parading.
It’s more about tradition and secrecy than any exclusions of people. You must be a descendent of a former member to be on court which is how most parade courts are done. This especially remains true for the women, not so much the men who hold positions on courts. Comus King is always masked and never supposed to be revealed. In 1991 the New Orleans City Council, led by Democrat Dorothy Mae Taylor, passed an ordinance that required social organizations, including Mardi Gras Krewes, to certify publicly that they did not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, disability, or sexual orientation, in order to obtain parade permits and other public licensure. In effect the ordinance required these, and other private social, groups to abandon their traditional code of secrecy and identify their members for the city's Human Relations Commission. The Comus organization (along with Momus and Proteus, other 19th-century Krewes) withdrew from parading, rather than identify its membership. Two Federal courts later decided that the ordinance was an unconstitutional infringement on First Amendment rights of free association and an unwarranted intrusion into the privacy of the groups subject to the ordinance. Despite the Circuit Court ruling, the Krewe of Comus has not returned to the streets to parade.] (The Krewe of Proteus later returned.) The Mistick Krewe of Comus still holds an annual ball on Mardi Gras night.
Laws are not always just. There are examples of this specific type of discrimination in New Orleans and surrounding parishes that use similar bloodlines arguments. For example: "After Katrina in 2005, St. Bernard passed an ordinance restricting the rental of single-family houses to blood relatives of property owners...The U.S. Department of Justice also got involved in the fight in 2012 and a settlement of more than $2.5 million was announced in May 2013 with the federal government. The federal lawsuit charged that St. Bernard officials fought for years to limit rental housing for African-Americans "under the pretext of post-Hurricane Katrina recovery planning." The federal lawsuit also said the actions were an attempt to keep blacks from moving into St. Bernard." Link here ---> www.bizneworleans.com/deal-reached-over-unfair-housing-in-st-bernard/
Banning hotels ( where you were employed) would ultimately make the workers unemployed. This would directly affect the gap between rich and poor. Hey, but who cares, as long as you think you're doing good you dont have to actually do it.
@@paddylight737 Comus was the most secretive organizations out there. I've literally had family members in both Rex and Comus. To be literally be at the Comus and rex Ball back then you had to have been handed a invitation by a member. Not too many people knew those members.
You are wrong about the NOLA Mardi Gras anti discrimination law. It required Krewes to provide membership lists to prove they werent discriminating. That was why several organizations refused to sign
Yes but that is a huge point you just glossed over. Comus didnt stop parading b/c of the anti-discrimination ordinance, they stopped because they were a secret group and had every right to remain so. Afterwards, they never signed the ordinance out of spite
And it’s not about race. It’s about money. They were a bunch of rich elitists who happened to be white. But in the end it wasn’t about Black or white. It was and still is about green.
i watched a peter santenello video on new orleans looked up comus thomas ball like the guy in the video said and then i got this video recommmended algorithm gone crazy
Thank you for making this video! The fact that Krewe of Comus remains segregated and supported by the Marriott and the city is disgraceful and definitely cause for protest. I'm grateful you shared your experience working the Comus event too. I recommend the doc "The Order of Myths" if you haven't seen it--- it's about the segregated krewes in Mobile, AL.
It’s not supported by the city. Carnival is entirely private clubs that pay for police and permits. Since this city lives off tourists and Carnival is the marquee event maybe you should think before damning the internationally televised event that advertises something exotic to spend vacation dollars on. Also, this isn’t “free”. The liquor bills and member room bookings more than cover any expenses. Those old men have the rhinestone suits, they get the tv slot. Maybe let’s examine the events in city owned properties like the Convention Center? This poster didn’t bring that up, and he knows nothing about the finances of any tableau ball.
@@elizabethclaiborne6461 I don't give a shit I could never be a member Rex, Comus or any other old-line krewe. They have the right to choose their members as private organizations. Bill Gates can't get into the Boston Club. Neither can Warren Buffett, Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos. Dororthy Mae Taylor ruined Mardi Gras, period.
One of the many of things you were completely wrong about is saying how much better Mardi Gras is after the decision in 1992 is it’s better for tourists maybe, but it’s all commercialized, where less and less locals attend it anymore. Also what Dorothy Mae Taylor aka the Grinch who Stole Mardi Gras did by passing her BS Ordnance was do is break the law because the courts have ruled that it was against peoples First Amendment Rights to the Right of Assembly, the Right of Free Speech. Even today she’s still a hated individual because of her Despotic views
This video is factually incorrect on a lot of fronts. 1 of the biggest misrepresentations is that Zulu ‘integrated’ to be diverse. Truth is, Zulu started allowing whites bc it needed to increase membership to raise funds and stay relevant.
Shawn Ben they started donating money to St Aug so they can have a decent band in their wack ass parade. After Zulu, Mardi Gras is over PERIOD. Nobody wants to see formaldehyde on wheels.
Not true, on all fronts. Zulu has never had an issue with integration. Momus,Comus,Prodeus,Proteus, Rex did. Rex only did integrate to satisfy white constitutates.
Thanks for this video! I love it when the truth is laid out in the open. However, I will never see a Black Rex or Black Rex queen. These whites will NEVER allow that to happen 😒
It's funny, these same folks will say how "oppressive" and "racist" the South is, yet the majority of blacks in America live in Dixie proper. I've left places for a whole lot less than perceived oppression. Right to associate and not be forced to be diverse. If they really want forced equality, then let's equally disperse black folks 13% all across America. BTW, the majority of Masonic lodges in the US are segregated. And there is nothing anyone can or will do about that. I'm guessing if folks had a problem with that, they could refuse service from the Shriner's hospitals if their kids has a problem or sickness, but that will never happen either. Lastly, notice how "offensive" blackface seems to be, yet the whole Krewe of Zulu wears blackface. Double standard?
@Invidious You don't know anything about black people to say that! You don't know any black people to have black friends because people are your friends or they are not regardless of skin color! This is based on the very white racism that always accuse black people of playing the so called race card and not being a real American. Statistics are another tool that whites use to discriminate, divide and conquer. Have a couple of seats with your white privilege pusher self!
This is a well-made video overall. Some of what you're saying is dead on, some is exaggerated for effect and to make your point. I think the most important point you're leaving out is that Comus is largely viewed a relic of archaic, racist thought by the masses in NOLA today. The Meeting of the Courts may be taken SUPER SERIAL by the people in those hotels when it happens, but to everyone else, it's a big joke that can be used as a drinking game for how dumb and predictable it is. The masses have taken control of Mardi Gras, and the celebration as it exists today, by and large, is accessible for all. Never are the racial, ethnic, and societal barriers that exist for 90% of the time LESS powerful than today, in 2018, at Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Hey Man! Thank You for putting this information out there! I have been to NOLA a few times within the past year and there’s several things that just don’t add up with the city’s history and the narrative they push. Last visit took me to Mardi Gras fountain that doesn’t work but still commemorates these pagan secret societies. Look into multiple races involved in the slave trade and history of NOLA. Over 30,000 Irish “immigrants “ died while digging the canal/ basin from lake poncitrain to Mississippi River. And btw, the comments you are receiving on this story you produced is disgusting. Keep up the good work my friend! The truth shall set us free 💜
Great video. As a native New Orleanian I don’t acknowledge these krewes at all as a part of my Mardi Gras experience. I never attend Rex parades EVER, and Comus is just gross. 👎🏽
Comus is gross, sorry. They get their moment of supremacist glory on Mardi Gras night and nobody cares except for their members and Rex members, and crawl back under their rocks for 364 days. ✌🏽
This video is the furthest from the truth. The narrator is ignorant to the history of Mardi Gras and New Orleans culture. This disgusting video actually encourages racism. I would love to personally show you about racism. That would never happen because the narrator is a coward.
![Gunna - HIM ALL ALONG [Official Visualizer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HiCxoDeo0hc/mqdefault.jpg)
What do they do other than throw a weird party?
While I appreciate what you’re saying and recognize a lot of truths in this video, not everything was entirely accurate and I think it might’ve fallen short on acknowledging what Mardi Gras even is or how New Orleans celebrates it today. As a New Orleans native and an active member and rider of a long-standing incredibly popular uptown krewe, royalty is such a small part of Mardi Gras and the krewes themselves. No one outside (or really even inside, unless you’re participating in a single night of festivities) of the organization is affected by the individuals at all. It’s quite literally just a costume that’s usually passed down through families. Yes, it’s unfortunate that those families are majority white, but if you look at the other 95% of krewes, the ones that locals actually care about, their kings, queens, pages, maids, captains, dukes, etc are all people of different backgrounds who are voted into their roles by the krewe members. You also failed entirely to acknowledge Zulu, Mardi Gras Indians, flambeaux, etc and their incredibly beautiful and influential history. No one actually “honors” these people. They clap when they walk onto a stage because it’s fun for everyone to participate in an imaginative experience. They don’t give a shit who is actually walking on the stage. You also should’ve mentioned the fact that it is literally a Louisiana state law for krewe members to wear masks to conceal their identity while riding to emphasize the fact that Mardi Gras is not meant to put anyone on a pedestal and allow people from all social and economic walks of life to be seen as the same during the season. I mean it is literally a written state law and as a rider I would get fined hundreds of dollars and kicked out the krewe for not wearing a mask. Also, as an ending point and something that you literally said, comus has not ridden in YEARS. No one cares unless they are in the krewe. New generations of nola natives don’t even know what comus is unless they are intentionally looking it up. Mardi Gras is a city wide celebration of everyone and to call it a white supremacist event is ignorant and uncalled for. This is coming from a super liberal college student as well. Some of these points were true, but overall this video is a reach and these people are just hoping to keep a long standing tradition alive as an homage to the city and their heritage. No one is participating maliciously.
Spoken like a racist.
A more in-depth examination of this history is found in James Gill's book Lords Of Misrule.
The ordinance was idiocy.
Let's punish people for providing the worlds largest, longest free celebration. That's what it was.
And you can tell it was meant as punishment because the Rex organization is included in the derision even though they went along with the ordinance --like all the krewes praised in the video-- right from the start.
And here's the facts --no one knows if Comus is integrated except members of Comus. And they refuse to say. But there are black people who attend the Comus ball.
And why is it that the kings and queens and debutantes of the black krewes don't get derided for THEIR pageantry? Why are you not deriding the king of Zulu? Or THEIR courts?
ALL the krewes who put on those parades an balls spend a lot of money to give the people --ALL the people of New Orleans, not to mention millions of visitors, a great Carnival season.
Because of you, and people like you, Mardi Gras day has been missing it's final parade for decades --and the slot in which Comus rolled has remained empty.
Far from the hate and boycotts you want to spread, the city needs to apologize to Comus and all the krewes for what they did and ask them all to return to parading.
Dickie Brennan in that video. Not so hidden if you ask me lol. He's huge business in New Orleans.
It’s more about tradition and secrecy than any exclusions of people. You must be a descendent of a former member to be on court which is how most parade courts are done. This especially remains true for the women, not so much the men who hold positions on courts. Comus King is always masked and never supposed to be revealed.
In 1991 the New Orleans City Council, led by Democrat Dorothy Mae Taylor, passed an ordinance that required social organizations, including Mardi Gras Krewes, to certify publicly that they did not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, disability, or sexual orientation, in order to obtain parade permits and other public licensure. In effect the ordinance required these, and other private social, groups to abandon their traditional code of secrecy and identify their members for the city's Human Relations Commission. The Comus organization (along with Momus and Proteus, other 19th-century Krewes) withdrew from parading, rather than identify its membership.
Two Federal courts later decided that the ordinance was an unconstitutional infringement on First Amendment rights of free association and an unwarranted intrusion into the privacy of the groups subject to the ordinance.
Despite the Circuit Court ruling, the Krewe of Comus has not returned to the streets to parade.] (The Krewe of Proteus later returned.)
The Mistick Krewe of Comus still holds an annual ball on Mardi Gras night.
Laws are not always just. There are examples of this specific type of discrimination in New Orleans and surrounding parishes that use similar bloodlines arguments. For example: "After Katrina in 2005, St. Bernard passed an ordinance restricting the rental of single-family houses to blood relatives of property owners...The U.S. Department of Justice also got involved in the fight in 2012 and a settlement of more than $2.5 million was announced in May 2013 with the federal government. The federal lawsuit charged that St. Bernard officials fought for years to limit rental housing for African-Americans "under the pretext of post-Hurricane Katrina recovery planning." The federal lawsuit also said the actions were an attempt to keep blacks from moving into St. Bernard." Link here ---> www.bizneworleans.com/deal-reached-over-unfair-housing-in-st-bernard/
Now Everyone’s free to go out and have a ball ! So Happy Mardi Gras2024 everybody !
They are a bunch of vampires lmao
Banning hotels ( where you were employed) would ultimately make the workers unemployed.
This would directly affect the gap between rich and poor. Hey, but who cares, as long as you think you're doing good you dont have to actually do it.
You truly know little about history.
Btw Rex members hide who they are ooops. Somebody didn’t research.
Lmao no they don’t, did you miss the part about the televised ball where their names are literally displayed?
@@paddylight737 exactly 😂😂😂😂
@@paddylight737 Comus was the most secretive organizations out there. I've literally had family members in both Rex and Comus. To be literally be at the Comus and rex Ball back then you had to have been handed a invitation by a member. Not too many people knew those members.
You are wrong about the NOLA Mardi Gras anti discrimination law. It required Krewes to provide membership lists to prove they werent discriminating. That was why several organizations refused to sign
Initially, yes. However, the deemed that unconstitutional and revised it shortly after.
Yes but that is a huge point you just glossed over. Comus didnt stop parading b/c of the anti-discrimination ordinance, they stopped because they were a secret group and had every right to remain so. Afterwards, they never signed the ordinance out of spite
Matt Johnson the creator of this video just hates white people.
And it’s not about race. It’s about money. They were a bunch of rich elitists who happened to be white. But in the end it wasn’t about Black or white. It was and still is about green.
Spite? That's pure speculation.
i watched a peter santenello video on new orleans
looked up comus thomas ball like the guy in the video said and then i got this video recommmended
algorithm gone crazy
Thank you for making this video! The fact that Krewe of Comus remains segregated and supported by the Marriott and the city is disgraceful and definitely cause for protest. I'm grateful you shared your experience working the Comus event too. I recommend the doc "The Order of Myths" if you haven't seen it--- it's about the segregated krewes in Mobile, AL.
It’s not supported by the city. Carnival is entirely private clubs that pay for police and permits. Since this city lives off tourists and Carnival is the marquee event maybe you should think before damning the internationally televised event that advertises something exotic to spend vacation dollars on.
Also, this isn’t “free”. The liquor bills and member room bookings more than cover any expenses. Those old men have the rhinestone suits, they get the tv slot.
Maybe let’s examine the events in city owned properties like the Convention Center? This poster didn’t bring that up, and he knows nothing about the finances of any tableau ball.
@@elizabethclaiborne6461 I don't give a shit I could never be a member Rex, Comus or any other old-line krewe. They have the right to choose their members as private organizations. Bill Gates can't get into the Boston Club. Neither can Warren Buffett, Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos. Dororthy Mae Taylor ruined Mardi Gras, period.
HAIL COMUS!!!
One of the many of things you were completely wrong about is saying how much better Mardi Gras is after the decision in 1992 is it’s better for tourists maybe, but it’s all commercialized, where less and less locals attend it anymore. Also what Dorothy Mae Taylor aka the Grinch who Stole Mardi Gras did by passing her BS Ordnance was do is break the law because the courts have ruled that it was against peoples First Amendment Rights to the Right of Assembly, the Right of Free Speech. Even today she’s still a hated individual because of her Despotic views
The narrator talks so fast, I couldn't decipher half of what he said.
This video is factually incorrect on a lot of fronts. 1 of the biggest misrepresentations is that Zulu ‘integrated’ to be diverse. Truth is, Zulu started allowing whites bc it needed to increase membership to raise funds and stay relevant.
The white krewes did the same to stay relevant!
True. Just like their Zulu Balls
Shawn Ben they started donating money to St Aug so they can have a decent band in their wack ass parade. After Zulu, Mardi Gras is over PERIOD. Nobody wants to see formaldehyde on wheels.
Not true, on all fronts. Zulu has never had an issue with integration. Momus,Comus,Prodeus,Proteus, Rex did. Rex only did integrate to satisfy white constitutates.
Thanks for this video! I love it when the truth is laid out in the open. However, I will never see a Black Rex or Black Rex queen. These whites will NEVER allow that to happen 😒
Have you heard of Zulu or the Illinois Club ? Are they racist also?
No.
It's funny, these same folks will say how "oppressive" and "racist" the South is, yet the majority of blacks in America live in Dixie proper. I've left places for a whole lot less than perceived oppression. Right to associate and not be forced to be diverse. If they really want forced equality, then let's equally disperse black folks 13% all across America. BTW, the majority of Masonic lodges in the US are segregated. And there is nothing anyone can or will do about that. I'm guessing if folks had a problem with that, they could refuse service from the Shriner's hospitals if their kids has a problem or sickness, but that will never happen either. Lastly, notice how "offensive" blackface seems to be, yet the whole Krewe of Zulu wears blackface. Double standard?
Zulu has members of different races in the Krewe and at their ball each year. Try again, Phyllis.
Zulu have several white members....
Not familiar with the other crew you named...
@Invidious You don't know anything about black people to say that! You don't know any black people to have black friends because people are your friends or they are not regardless of skin color! This is based on the very white racism that always accuse black people of playing the so called race card and not being a real American. Statistics are another tool that whites use to discriminate, divide and conquer. Have a couple of seats with your white privilege pusher self!
This is a well-made video overall. Some of what you're saying is dead on, some is exaggerated for effect and to make your point. I think the most important point you're leaving out is that Comus is largely viewed a relic of archaic, racist thought by the masses in NOLA today. The Meeting of the Courts may be taken SUPER SERIAL by the people in those hotels when it happens, but to everyone else, it's a big joke that can be used as a drinking game for how dumb and predictable it is. The masses have taken control of Mardi Gras, and the celebration as it exists today, by and large, is accessible for all. Never are the racial, ethnic, and societal barriers that exist for 90% of the time LESS powerful than today, in 2018, at Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Wrong
Comus, it's about TRADITION this is a private club!
@@denniskazmierczkjr9348 lmao No one gives a fuck about Comus anymore, my guy.
Knew it 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽 exactly I stop celebrating holidays period shit wait til you hear about Christmas 😩
Hey Man! Thank You for putting this information out there! I have been to NOLA a few times within the past year and there’s several things that just don’t add up with the city’s history and the narrative they push. Last visit took me to Mardi Gras fountain that doesn’t work but still commemorates these pagan secret societies. Look into multiple races involved in the slave trade and history of NOLA. Over 30,000 Irish “immigrants “ died while digging the canal/ basin from lake poncitrain to Mississippi River. And btw, the comments you are receiving on this story you produced is disgusting. Keep up the good work my friend! The truth shall set us free 💜
Great video. As a native New Orleanian I don’t acknowledge these krewes at all as a part of my Mardi Gras experience. I never attend Rex parades EVER, and Comus is just gross. 👎🏽
Amazing video- please make more vids
Great, accurate video.
Why interfere with tradition. Long live Comus!
Exactly, this guy is a clown
Because your tradition is racist shit, and you're a racist piece of shit.
Comus is gross, sorry. They get their moment of supremacist glory on Mardi Gras night and nobody cares except for their members and Rex members, and crawl back under their rocks for 364 days. ✌🏽
This guy is a joke!
Bullshit
Hail! C O M U S !
Ok
🖕🏾comus
Great video!
This video is the furthest from the truth. The narrator is ignorant to the history of Mardi Gras and New Orleans culture. This disgusting video actually encourages racism. I would love to personally show you about racism. That would never happen because the narrator is a coward.
So do you!
Many of the members Comus and Rex directly benefitted from slavery
Lololol No. You didn’t research the history of Mardi Gras well. How sad to promote such lies and hate.
The guy that made this video does not have a clue what he’s talking about. He just hates evil whitey and the evil Marriott. What a jerkoff
These secret societies need to be abolished.
Nice knowing that you don’t believe people should have First Amendment Rights.
Bruh, this dude knows crap about Rex or Comus.
Bahhh. Throw day the race card!
Thank you.
free events? bad research on top of good history. do better.
Like a weird cult
I love New Orleans. Unfortunately, New Orleans lives in the past and is fading away. There is nothing more antebellum in New Orleans then Comus.