The Spanish Town Mardi Gras Parade’s Board of Directors will meet in the next few weeks to discuss criticisms of some floats and allegations of racism during Saturday’s parade, but board members had no comment when reached by phone today.
Both Board President Bill Brumfield and board member Duz Hamilton declined to comment, other than Hamilton saying the board has no control over what the floats do before deferring all questions to Brumfield.
“As far as our control over that, we don’t have any,” Hamilton tells Daily Report. Brumfield says the board will make a statement after they meet.
The parade, which is billed as a satirical show where no one is exempt, has been hit with criticism on social media and local publications since Saturday.
The #PinkLivesMatter and #FlamingoLivesMatter float drew some harsh criticism because of its analogy to the Black Lives Matter movement and a picture of a flamingo with a sign reading “I can’t breathe” around its neck, a reference to Eric Garner, a 43-year-old father, who died in police custody after New York City police office placed him in a chokehold. Garner can be heard repeating the words in a viral video capturing the encounter.
Former Gov. Bobby Jindal, a frequent target of the parade, was also mocked, as were Gov. John Bel Edwards and numerous other local, state and national officials.
—Ryan Broussard
