Photographing to Restore Sanity… or Fear… or Jouvert!

I inadvertently made a decision to forgo my alma mater’s homecoming today in order to check out some of the Jon Stewart-Stephen Colbert rally on the mall. I wore my Howard gear with the hopes of heading up there after (I know, what was I thinking). An unexpected auto snafu, along with a huge turn out meant that I had to choose one.

It was delightful to see this random, chaotically organized non-angry non-mob, walking towards Chinatown, dancing in a float, protesting with bull horns on the sidelines or just being there. Several signs were based on sound bites from Stewart or Colbert; however, a majority were inspired by attendees own interpretations of our current socio-political landscape, media coverage and our politicians.

As I left this evening I was thinking, “This is exactly like Jouvert – socio-political commentary and people in costumes!” Since the post-emancipation period, or even before, Africans and other oppressed persons in the Caribbean have used this method to protest or highlight injustice or idiocy of people in power. In Trinidad & Tobago, it’s known as Jouvert from the creole for jour ouvert – the opening of day or dawn – because it was only permitted to happen from the wee hours of the morning on the first day of carnival. So my friends, people with mostly individually conceived, homemade costumes and signs making satirical statements about political and social issues have been having their own rallies to restore sanity and fear for more than a century before what happened today. (The Trini ones just happen to include DJs on 18-wheelers, steelbands and lots of liquor/revelry on the streets during an ongoing festival :-)). But just as with Jouvert, it was hilarious, it was great!

Here are a few of my favorites, for more photos go to the Studio Lafoncette Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.488688082245.287507.45398357245&type=3.

Enjoy

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