Visual Story Telling - A Day in the Treme

These photographs document a New Orleans jazz funeral and second line parade that took place in the Tremé—the oldest African American neighborhood in the U.S. The tradition of the second parade began in the 19th century and is rooted in the services provided by fraternal societies and neighborhood organizations that offered insurance and burial services to its members within the African American community. A second line parade incorporates aspects of courtly function within the context of a rollicking, slow-moving block party. Early on during the procession, the brass band’s mournful dirge suddenly turns up tempo, igniting into a 2/4 jazz beat that marks a transition from sadness to celebration. This particular second line procession honored the passing of the artist Prince.