Mardi Gras Parade Attendees Outraged After Receiving Black Faced Figurines

Parade attendees at Mardi Gras’ Krewe Endymion parade on Saturday were left shocked and angered after they were handed black faced figurines which they perceived as offensive.

According to a report by WWL, a CBS-affiliated television station, a New Orleans resident, Carmen Cousin, who attended the parade said she was astonished when she saw her four-year-old son with a black faced figurine during the parade.

“I was just totally perplexed. I didn't know what to think,” said Cousin.

The report further stated that Cousin’s son was on her husband’s shoulders on Canal Street in New Orleans when someone from a float gave the child a package which was bubble wrapped.

The package contained two porcelain black faced figures, one of which was a female figure. The female figure looked like a servant holding a tray while the other figure was that of a male holding a hat. However, Cousin was not the only one who faced this.

Another parade goer Rene Bond was in the same area, not far away from where Cousin was. Bond was with her friends and one of her friends was given the same package, the report said.

“As soon as he opened it, everybody just kind of got quiet,” Bond said.

Bond said, “Those were designed to make African American people and slaves sub-human. That was what they viewed us as. That's what they thought we were and that's all we were good for, was being servants. And ugly.”

“You seem to think that it's going to be tolerated. You seem to think that it’s okay behavior. But it's hurtful behavior,” added Bond.

Another parade attendee, Gregory Hawkins who got a similar package tried to make sense of it.

Hawkins said, “I was searching my mind for like, an explanation. I thought maybe they were salt shakers or something. Or that this was some sort of historic thing for the Endymion crew specifically. ”

“But the more I thought about it, the more upset I became about it, ” Hawkins added.

Cousin, Bond and Hawkins posted pictures of the figures on Facebook. It was through Facebook that they got to know that they weren’t the only ones who experienced the incident. Following this, Bond, Cousin and Amanda Mendoza, Hawkins’ girlfriend, contacted the Krewe of Endymion through Facebook.

Mendoza got a reply from the parade authorities, who asked her about the details of the float and it’s riding position so that the case could be investigated.

Mendoza said, “They responded once or twice this morning, but they've kind of been dormant after I gave them like, exact details.”

Cousin also added, “What would your message be to the people who did this and to those who think that this is okay? How would you feel if you, or your child had received something like that? ”

The authorities of the Krewe of Endymion haven’t made any comment on the matter as of yet, the report said.