Date of Award
Summer 8-2013
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Degree Program
History
Department
History
Major Professor
Michael Mizell-Nelson
Second Advisor
Connie Atkinson
Third Advisor
Mary Niall Mitchell
Abstract
In 1979, New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebration was disrupted by a police strike. The strike exposed the new political positioning that had resulted from national pressures such as the realization of black political power and the brief surge in public worker unions. New Orleans’ weakening white social elite was forced to assert its remaining power through Mardi Gras, while finding an unexpected ally in Mayor Ernest N. Morial, the first black mayor of New Orleans. This temporary alliance exemplifies an experience that was different than that of other American cities. While strong racial tension persisted, the old establishment’s interests coincided with Mayor Morial’s when Mardi Gras, a powerful cultural and economic institution, was threatened. This temporary alliance managed to defeat the local police union by galvanizing the citizens of the city against the strikers.
Recommended Citation
Chadwick, Gordon F., "Holding Mardi Gras Hostage: Mayor Ernest N. Morial and the 1979 New Orleans Police Strike" (2013). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 1687.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1687
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.