The Historic New Orleans Collection will host a Zoom discussion on Thursday, May 13, at 7 p.m. among presidents of three social aid and pleasure clubs and owners of businesses that support second line parades. Showing Love: Parades, Mutual Aid, and the Importance of Place  is a free event that requires advance registration.

For more than 150 years, African American benevolent associations and social aid and pleasure clubs have supported their members and the broader community by organizing jazz funerals and second line parades. As the parades weave through the city, barrooms and other community spaces host stops, and vendors travel with the second line to provide food and refreshments. This conversation with club presidents and business owners will focus on these important networks within New Orleans’ cultural economy and participants will share stories that celebrate the places and people who make second lines happen.

This event is presented in conjunction with THNOC’s exhibition and upcoming book Dancing in the Streets: Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs of New Orleans.

The panelists will include Rachel Breunlin, director of the Neighborhood Story Project; Norman Dixon Jr., president of the Young Men Olympian Junior Benevolent Association; Darryl Press, “Porkchop Man” and cofounder of the Ole & Nu Style Fellas Social Aid and Pleasure Club; Steven Elloie, owner of the Sportsman’s Corner bar; Perry “Ice Bird” Franklin, owner of Club Good Times II and president of the Keep ’N It Real Social and Pleasure Club; and Cecile Dalton, owner of Seal’s Class Act.

Read more about the exhibition in an OffBeat story by Geraldine Wyckoff.