Hey Baby Doll

March 19, 2018 - I went to the New Orleans Treme neighborhood to see the Second Line procession of the Fi Yi Yi Indians; the Skull and Bones Gang; and factions of the Baby Dolls. I parked on North Villere Street - a block from the residence of artist Briana Hill and Hip Hop artist MOB Skii Wii. Earlier, Briana and I were discussing a future photo session and I told her I was on my way to her hood. MOB wasn't home so I kidnapped his girlfriend.

She caught up with me within the Second Line at St. Bernard Avenue. Soon after, the Baby Dolls began to join. I tried to explain the importance of their culture but I'm sure I was inadequate. Hopefully this blog will fill some holes. Most is speculation. There was little to no documentation to the origins and progress of the Baby Dolls and other Black Mardi Gras traditions. As usual, we just made it happen.

In the midst of Jim Crow era New Orleans, 1912, The Red Light District was the attraction Bourbon Street is today. Storyville, as it was called, had legal prostitution but only for white Jim Crow.  Black prostitutes were housed a few blocks away in Black Storyville. There, prostitution was illegal. Incredulously, even in a sordid industry, Blacks were disenfranchised.

The rumor was the white women of Storyville were preparing to Mask during Mardi Gras. Even for white women, this bit of show was transcending. New Orleans wasn't just white Jim Crow; it was white man's Jim Crow. The Black women of  Storyville ate from the grapevine and decided they wanted to dress and hit the streets.

In brainstorming for a name, they decided on Baby Dolls. They reasoned that's what the men called them. Baby Doll was important and empowering. In 1912, dolls were rare and expensive. Also, Black women weren't perceived as precious and delicate. With suits to match the moniker, The Black Storyville Baby Dolls woke up neighborhoods with the audacity and the expression that became the culture. They poked at female social taboos by having cigars to accent their strut. They carried knives and walking sticks. Some even made it rain by flinging money at men. Basically, they said I don't give a damn about Victorian norms.

Most of this tradition occurred close to the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans. North Claiborne Avenue was the main artery. In 1968, The Monster was built. Interstate 10 now hovered over Treme. Before I-10, there were 123 Black businesses. After I-10, there were less than 50. The interstate was originally proposed to run through the Mississippi river area of the French Quarter. That didn't happen. Hmmm...

Black Indian Masking thrived. The culture became city wide. There were tribes downtown, uptown and even on the westbank. The Baby Dolls were dying. This was a Treme thing. Treme was dying in some part because of The Monster. In 2003 or 2004, one of the oldest living Baby Dolls helped revive the culture. Miriam Batiste Reed with help from Antoinette K-Doe once again made the Baby Dolls a presence. The Ernie K-Doe Baby Dolls were born and they did charitable work throughout the city.

This entry is vastly incomplete. There's much more to know about the grassroots of these cultures. There's much more to know about the women and men of these cultures. To learn more about this and other New Orleans Black and Creole cultures:

• Dianne Honore Destrehan/GumboMarie.com (She's pictured with the cigar)
• Malik Bartholomew/KnowNolaTours.com
• Bruce Barnes of The Northside Skull & Bones Gang (Oneshortdoc.com)
• Dr. Kim Vaz. She's done extensive research on Black New Orleans culture.
• Alana Harris (pictured being kissed) of the Creole Belle Baby Dolls (They have a Facebook Page)
• Anita Oubre - Active Baby Doll and Freelance Writer with article in The New Orleans Tribune, "It's Mardi Gras Time (pictured below).

*Please comment or message me and I will add to this list.