New Orleans social aid and pleasure clubs are facing uncertainty ahead of their upcoming parade season due to a shakeup on insurance and licensing rules.
The New Orleans Police Department recently announced it would begin enforcing stricter insurance requirements for second-line parades, just weeks before the 2025-26 second-line season is set to begin.
The requirements came as a surprise to the city’s social aid and pleasure clubs, who are now scrambling to get into compliance. Social aid and pleasure club members rallied against the new requirements outside Gallier Hall on Tuesday (Aug. 5), arguing that they are too expensive and not feasible given the last minute nature of the announcement. Club members fear that the second-line culture is being stifled.
“I think the new requirements, that are supposedly old requirements, are trying to push the culture back and not let us do what we do on Sundays,” said Tina Blackmore, a member of the VIP Ladies Social Aid and Pleasure Club, at the protest.
The NOPD did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The requirements address means of transportation such as trailers, floats and trucks, which are fixtures in second-line parades and have come to be associated with the parade culture.
Among the requirements being enforced, towed utility trailers — known as trolleys — that are used in parades must have “proper insurance coverage to ensure the safe transportation of human beings,” according to email to city officials and others from NOPD Senior Police Officer William J. Johnson III, which was obtained by Verite News.
Walter Fair, president of the Original CTC Steppers, helped organize the rally. He said that the businesses that rent out trolleys — used to carry people in parades — must take out a $5 million insurance policy. According to the NOPD email, those businesses must also obtain licenses as transportation companies.
The high costs could mean fewer trolleys in the upcoming second-line season.
“We’re not trying to be belligerent or ignorant about the situation, but we also want them to know that we have parades planned at the end of this month and you can’t just implement these stipulations right before the season is about to start,” Fair said.
Club members at the rally shared concerns that other types of parades are not bearing the same costs. They pointed out that Mardi Gras krewes – which they say generate more money – typically pay far less in city fees.
Krewes that parade as part of the city-sanctioned Carnival parade schedule pay only for a permit, which can range from $750 to $1,500 per year depending on the size of the procession. But since those parades are considered official city events, taxpayers cover police escort and security costs. Second-line clubs, on the other hand, have to cover those expenses on their own, and they can run into the thousands of dollars.
“Mardi Gras krewes pay far less than second-line clubs, and the Mardi Gras krewes have the entire police department, they have sanitation, they have code enforcement and everything else. We’re spending $3 and $4 and $5,000 for a parade that the city [doesn’t] even respect,” said Tamara Jackson, president of the Social Aid and Pleasure Club Task Force.
The NOPD Special Events Division announced the new enforcement at its annual meeting with social aid and pleasure clubs in July. Jackson was present at the meeting, along with representatives from second-line clubs. She told Verite News that NOPD communicated the rules verbally but did not provide the clubs formal documents with the rules, which has contributed to confusion among clubs on how to get into compliance.
“I asked for clarity. I asked for an additional meeting. I was ignored,” she said.
Though Jackson believes the requirements are well-intentioned, she said the NOPD announced the new enforcement measures without giving clubs time to react. The season’s first parade is on Aug. 24, and the parade’s organizer, the Valley of Silent Men club, submitted a parade permit application last month, according to city permitting records.
Now, Jackson isn’t sure whether the costs for that parade will go up. Jackson asked NOPD to waive the clubs’ insurance and licensing requirements for six months but said she was denied.
Some clubs believe the strict enforcement of insurance rules is the result of a crash involving a party trolley in June, when 22 people were injured. The trolley ride wasn’t connected to a second-line parade or organization.
Terrance Winley, a member of the Krewe of the Doll club, said he thinks clubs are being penalized for an incident that happened outside of the culture. Winley was upset to hear that one of the compliance measures requires trolley riders to be secured in harnesses.
With potentially fewer clubs using trolleys this year, Winley is concerned about the accessibility of second-line parades. Trolleys are used to carry elders and others who can’t walk the miles-long parade routes.
“That’s very important for those that can’t walk and can’t be mobile,” Winley said. “Why would you want to take that away from them when they’ve been doing that for decades.”
Representatives from the NOPD are scheduled to provide information and answer questions on the new requirements at the New Orleans City Council’s next full meeting on Thursday.
On Saturday, the council released a statement expressing support for parading clubs. Councilmembers also proposed a resolution stating that the new requirements could jeopardize feasibility and affordability of second-line parades.
The proposed resolution calls for adequate community engagement by city departments seeking to enforce new regulations. It also says that the public should be made aware of changes to requirements and policies well in advance of implementation.