Loyola New Orleans College of Law Mardi Gras History

In commemoration of the College of Law’s centennial, and with the carnival season at hand, the Law Library currently has on exhibit “Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Mardi Gras Traditions Over the Years”. Stop by the circulation desk to browse articles and photographs of the Mardi Gras celebration that the law school held each year starting in 1977. The tradition faded in the late 1990s, but with today’s parade, hopefully we will renew our annual Mardi Gras tradition.

And here’s an online version of the Powerpoint display running in conjunction with the exhibit:


Happy Mardi Gras!

The Legal History of Mardi Gras in Louisiana

As the Carnival Season is gearing up to full speed, and with Fat Tuesday two weeks from today, the law library has a new exhibit, “The Legal History of Mardi Gras in Louisiana.” It features some historic items from our collection, a summary of the Mardi Gras Krewe de-segretation legal battle of 1991-1992, and some humorous examples of how lawyers and the law are often the subject of parody and satire during Mardi Gras.

For those who can’t stop by and see it (and the exhibit comes down promptly on Ash Wednesday!) here is a slide show of the exhibit and some of the specific items in it.



(You'll need to advance the slides manually.) You can also view a full size version of the slide show.

Happy Mardi Gras!!!

Today in 1991: Mardi Gras Krewes Desegregated

Twenty years ago today, the New Orleans City Council passed an ordinance that requires each Mardi Gras Krewe to provide an affidavit that they have:

“[N]o written or unwritten provision in its charter, bylaws, rules, regulations or policies which call for the refusal, withholding or denying of membership, or any of the services, accommodations, advantages, facilities or privilege offered by the respondent to members or others, because of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or ancestry...” New Orleans City Code 34-3.