"Let the Good Times Roll" 
Recently, when New Orleans suffered due to a devastating hurricane, a mock Jazz Funeral along with a Second Line was organized to signify “Katrina” was dead and New Orleanians should return home. Many brides in New Orleans enjoy their memorable day by arranging a Second Line parade through the streets. More recently, when the New Orleans Saints Football Team won the National Football Championship following a forty year losing streak; the entire New Orleans metropolitan area celebrated. It was a common sight to see as people ran out of their homes at the conclusion of the football game and Second Lined through their neighborhoods. Yes, I miss New Orleans. She is a unique city full of a long, rich history. She is the Second Line. She can be felt as you sway down the street moving to the rhythmic jazz. The soulful music bellows out of the brass instruments. I am reflecting on another time. I am reminded of calling out to my friends along the way to hop into the parade. I am one with the city and the music. I am a New Orleanian. To Second Line is in my spirit, in my bones, and in the very core of my being. I will dance, sway, and jive to the music, and I will “Let the Good Times Roll.”
Sutro, Dirk. Jazz for Dummies. Foster City, CA: IDG Worldwide, 1998. Print.
Want to learn how to Second Line? Click the link below and you are on your way:
The modern day New Orleans Second Line is full of gusto and zest. While Jazz Funerals still have a Second Line, the Second Line has become a separate entity apart from the Jazz Funeral. The evolution of the Second Line has now developed full circle. What has taken place is called cultural fusion. Cultural fusion is where one culture meets another culture; the two cultures fuse together to form a new culture (Sutro 20). This is exactly what has transpired within the African American culture and modern day New Orleans. This is why the Second Line is totally unique to New Orleans (Sutro 20).
However, we never want to forget that the Second Line originated amongst African Americans. Although the Second Line is a free-spirited, dance of wild abandon; it dates back to the tribes of Africa (Sutro 20). It was preserved by a community of people familiar with pain and suffering. It is part of the African American heritage (Sutro 20). “The Second Line was, and is, a socializing device for the black youth of New Orleans. Being a “Second Liner” is exciting. You’re where the action is right behind the band as they swing down the street. You can strut, dance, and whirl your umbrella to the tempo of “Bourbon Street Parade,” or “High Society.” Just name any black jazz “great” who came out of the Crescent City, and he’s paid his dues to the Second Line” (Buerkle, Barker 16). The Second Line has become a symbol of New Orleans. It is associated with fun and excitement. Out of the African Americans affliction, a gift was bestowed upon New Orleans. That gift is the Second Line.
Recently, when New Orleans suffered due to a devastating hurricane, a mock Jazz Funeral along with a Second Line was organized to signify “Katrina” was dead and New Orleanians should return home. Many brides in New Orleans enjoy their memorable day by arranging a Second Line parade through the streets. More recently, when the New Orleans Saints Football Team won the National Football Championship following a forty year losing streak; the entire New Orleans metropolitan area celebrated. It was a common sight to see as people ran out of their homes at the conclusion of the football game and Second Lined through their neighborhoods. Yes, I miss New Orleans. She is a unique city full of a long, rich history. She is the Second Line. She can be felt as you sway down the street moving to the rhythmic jazz. The soulful music bellows out of the brass instruments. I am reflecting on another time. I am reminded of calling out to my friends along the way to hop into the parade. I am one with the city and the music. I am a New Orleanian. To Second Line is in my spirit, in my bones, and in the very core of my being. I will dance, sway, and jive to the music, and I will “Let the Good Times Roll.”
New Orleans Wedding Second Line:
Mock Jazz Funeral for the "AINT'S" Saints Football Team:
Work Cited:
Buerkle, Jack, and Danny Barker. Bourbon Street Black. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973. Print.
Sutro, Dirk. Jazz for Dummies. Foster City, CA: IDG Worldwide, 1998. Print.
Photo Obtained from: http://www.flickr.com/
