Premiering at SXSW in Austin, Texas this weekend featuring Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes (Chief Equity & Executive Officer, Ashé Cultural Arts Center):

In March, on the heels of a successful Mardi Gras 2020 celebration, the Zulu Krewe - a group of over 800 men, almost all African American, lost twelve members out of over seventy who contracted the COVID-19 virus. To date, sixteen members of this historic organization have been lost to the Coronavirus.  The origin story of our film was an interest in discovering the impact of the pandemic on such a stalwart cultural organization, and what that loss could tell us about our country’s health inequities, as tied to race.  Diving into the fascinating origin story of The Zulu Club, we begin to uncover the way Black people and Black culture have shaped New Orleans and our nation.

Director: Matthew O. Henderson