NEW ORLEANS – Saturday, members of New Orleans’ largest Krewe held a peaceful protest outside of their Mid-City headquarters. This to denounce krewe leadership after Nyx Co-founder and Captain Julie Lea issued social media posts that many members found racist and offensive.
Last week, Lea shared social media posts on behalf of herself and the Krewe of Nyx using the phrase “All Lives Matter,” as Black Lives Matter demonstrations popped up around the country. The Black Lives Matter movement protests racism and police brutality. The slogan “All Lives Matter” has been associated with criticism of BLM.
Lea later apologized, explaining that she didn’t understand the implications of what she said, but for many members, it was too late. Hundreds of krewe members expressed anger over the post, releasing a letter denouncing their leadership, resigning from the Krewe of Nyx, and demanding a full refund.
“We’ve felt ignored, mistreated, and silenced by you for a while now, but for us—members of a
krewe with such a large population of Black women—the use of the hashtag #AllLivesMatter,
along with the statement “our souls are the same color” on official Nyx social media pages that
are supposed to represent us, made us feel even more silenced by you.”
Saturday’s protests came immediately after all 49 woman who typically ride on the 21st float resigned from the krewe with another open letter.
“We stand with the Black community against all acts of racism, police brutality, hatred,
and prejudice. Julie’s “#AllLivesMatter” post was not only morally unacceptable and socially
divisive but was a tremendously brazen betrayal of our Sisters of color. It, and Julie’s
subsequent apology, demonstrated a lack of understanding of the trauma inflicted on the Black
community by structurally racist and oppressive systems, and do not represent the women of
Float 21 or the Krewe to which we thought we belonged.”
Protesters Saturday called for Lea to step down as captain and threw away club merchandise into a trashcan labeled “Nyxxed.” These items will then be sorted and donated to the homeless.
One protestor said, “We understand that all lives matter, however, all lives aren’t trembling with fear when the police stop them, all lives aren’t affected by systemic racism, all lives don’t matter until black lives matter.”