The white men in jackets and ties were obviously out of their element. Normally, at this time of day, they would be preparing to leave home or office for a couple of drinks, lunch and maybe a card game at their clubs. Now, on December 19, 1991, they shifted in their seats, returning hostile glares from black men and women in the packed basement of New Orleans City Hall. The city council was meeting in spartan surroundings while its regular chambers were being renovated, but the physical discomforts were nothing compared to the general psychic unease as everyone waited for the great debate on an ordinance to desegregate Mardi Gras parades and gentlemen's clubs.
From Lords of Misrule: Mardis Gras and the Politics of Race in New Orleans by James Gill
[This was recommended to me by an old friend who, when Mardi Gras rolls around, can always be found throwing beads from a float. I may join him some year.]
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