Northside skull and bones gang
“There is an air of celebration, love, and respect for community that I’ve never seen elsewhere.” “The real Mardi Gras is outside of the French Quarter, on every street corner of the city and its neighborhoods,” Rivera told The Atlantic. It was founded on the spirit of resistance for many years, African-Americans were not allowed to march in the Mardi Gras parades, so the Skull and Bone gang “became a way to survive and pass messages on to the next generation.” “It’s very hard for black people in this country to live, exist, and survive in any kind of peaceful way.”īarnes says that in addition to serving an educational purpose for the community’s disadvantaged youth, the gang helps keep ancient African traditions alive. Stream ad-free or purchase CDs and MP3s now on. It’s a school of hard knocks,” says Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes, chief of the Skull and Bone gang, in Victoria Rivera’s short documentary, Skull + Bone. Check out We Are the Northside Skull and Bone Gang by Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots on Amazon Music. “When you’re a young person living in this environment, you have a choice that you have to make-to steer clear of it or get caught up directly in it. Its mission: To warn local teenagers of violence and gunplay. Embodying the undead is the Northside Skull and Bone Gang, comprised of descendants of Native Americans and slaves. For 200 years, its residents have awakened on the first day of the carnival to the clattering of bones and oversized skulls. Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, which for many Christians is a period of fasting and reflection ahead of Easter.On the morning of Mardi Gras, before the first light of dawn, dozens of skeletons flood the streets of the 6th Ward neighborhood of Tremé in New Orleans. The party officially ends at midnight, when police on horseback ride down Bourbon Street to ceremonially “clear” the street - a symbol meant to mark the end of the Carnival season. But judging by the number of Saints fans dressed up as blind referees during the Mardi Gras season - and likely again on Tuesday - fans here have neither forgiven nor forgotten. NFL officials acknowledged after the game that flags should have been thrown. The Rams went on to win the game and then lost to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. 20 NFC Championship game between the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints.Ī Rams defensive back leveled a Saints receiver with a helmet-to-helmet hit at a crucial point in the final minutes of regulation time. This year’s Carnival season also has featured numerous jabs at the NFL and its commissioner Roger Goodell, over the now-infamous “no-call” that came during the Jan. 20 caused massive damage to the three-story, 150-year-old mansion whose occupants over the years include four kings and a queen of Rex. Charles Avenue has been an important stop along the Rex parade route since 1907, and the Rex king usually stops at the house during the parade.Ī fire on Feb. Tuesday’s Rex parade is also expected to feature a stop at “The Rex House,” despite a fire that heavily damaged the historic mansion. Zulu issued a statement in February saying that their parade costumes bear no resemblance to those worn by “blackface” minstrel performers at the turn of the century and that their costumes are designed to honor garments worn by South African Zulu warriors.