For centuries, African stories have been mistold by Hollywood in an attempt to give the next big star for the American consumer to enjoy through tales of slave trade, embattled presidents and yellow-filtered (or Mexican filter as it's known on critical social media spaces) war zones in Africa. While this ignorance has persisted, one particular issue this week has brought it up again through the New Orleans Mardi Gras parades — the Krewe of Zulu.
Clad in shiny minstrel outfits and plastered with black makeup, the look bears a jarring resemblance to blackface costumes. At first glance, you might assume it's a version of the Netherlands' Zwarte Piet, the blackface servant of the Dutch version of Santa Claus who has sparked much debate and tons more pride in its people. But no, it is the work of African Americans holding on to a backward centuries-old tradition.
The parade was a reaction of the racism experienced by black minstrels at the time. So, in 1909, they fought back by making their own parade that was showcased in black spaces to rebel against the racial lines that were not welcoming to them.
Calling New Orleans “very insular” and critics “clueless outsiders”, blackface historian Shantrelle P Lewis defended the parade's costumes in a piece by NPR. The organisation of the Krewe of Zulu parade displays the startling ignorance that is embraced by the West when attempting to embrace African countries in their media. This results in the homogenisation of African cultures, all in the name of allowing African Americans to appropriate African symbols and bastardise their meaning.
This homogenisation is especially inescapable following a huge social media debate that erupted over Tyla's heritage as a coloured woman. Many Americans fought back about her identity, citing their history with the term “coloured” being used as a slur for African Americans specifically.
At face value, the suits worn by Krewe of Zulu mirror those of coloured-led Kaapse Klopse parades while misidentifying it with the image of what they learnt from a 20th-century skit of what Zulu warriors looked like. A spokesperson of one of the groups protesting against Krewe of Zulu, Take 'Em Down NOLA, believes that they are aware of how problematic the parade is, but notes that it is “strictly for the white guests who come to town to take part in Mardi Gras”.
One of its white participants told CNN that he could see where the problem was, but felt that more people needed to empathise with what it represented for those who participate in it.
“But I think if they understood the relevance of it, being a Zulu, for me, a white guy from Uptown New Orleans ... is just such an honour for me. It’s opened up so many doors.”
In 1949, the King of their parade was Louis Armstrong, who faced a fierce backlash for his participation. Following this scandal, support waned and the parade dwindled down to 16 members with no hope in sight for a return. In 1965 they opted for masks rather than black makeup (because that makes a world of difference) but a year later, they reverted to the lacquer of black paint.
Today, this imagery is confronted by South Africans and, more specifically, the living people who are Zulus, who are appalled by the misrepresentation. The Tweede Nuwe Jaar celebrations are defined by a history where the two-piece suits and top hats were designed to mock slave owners in South Africa. In a report by sustainability champions Twyg, minstrels from the festival avoided mimicking stereotypes of black people, their elaborate strokes of makeup were done to mask their identities. Their approach is rooted in different inspirations, including American minstrel shows and the mystical creations of Native Americans, without mocking or ridiculing the original creations.
This has been a recurring issue with black Hollywood, where heavy hitters like Black Panther and Coming to America often make missteps in trying to capture a particular region's code of dress and instead create a mash-up without regard to those specific regions for a fantastical foray of their own imagining. While their white counterparts don't often learn the correct phrases in a foreign European language, Black Panther and its sequels are some of few exceptions where a real language is adapted but a nonsensical African accent is applied that caricatures voices of the continent.
Rather than being informed about what specific African cultures like the Zulus or coloured and what they do or how they dress, they lean into stereotypes of what they have appropriated. Much like the efforts that have seen Zwarte Piet changed to Schoorsteenpieten (chimney Pete), African Americans behind the Zulu parade need to start making drastic changes that aren't progressing their self-expression while regressing the image of other black people who don't pledge allegiance to the US.
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