Highlighting Diverse Collections Archive

Mardi Gras Indians explores how sacred and secular expressions of Carnival throughout the African diaspora came together in a gumbo-sized melting pot to birth one of the most unique traditions celebrating African culture, Indigenous peoples, and Black Americans. Williams ties together the fragments of the ancient traditions with the expressed experiences of the contemporary. From the sangamentos of the Kongolese and the calumets of the various tribes of the lower Mississippi River valley to one-on-one interviews with today?s Black masking tribe members, this book highlights the spirit of resistance and rebellion upon which this culture was built.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a festival for the whole city'and in this buoyant picture book two children experience the holiday in their own special way. Watching the Mardi Gras Indians in their beautiful hand-sewn costumes; viewing the parades and catching the beads and coins pitched from the fabulous floats'from dawn till night's end, this is a day filled with wonders.Author Fatima Shaik's vivid picture of Mardi Gras in a close-knit African-American community is perfectly illustrated by Floyd Cooper's shimmering paintings, filled with the pageantry and spirit of this grand celebration.