Dispatches From The Front

American Visions, April, 1996 by Henry Chase

At times, the "grandfather (or grandmother) clause" can be a weapon in black hands! At the Alpha Phi Alpha house welcome for the king and queen and court, for instance, Lady Oneida Michelle Johnson is quick to assert her lineage: "My mother was the first lady in 1962, and in '76 my aunt was a lady; now in 1996 I'm wearing the same train that they wore."

This year, the black king, who always goes by the title King Elexis I, is a poised, mature and pleasant Josef Michael Holloway, whose calm air of ,fitting his royal role (or it fitting him) can't help but derive in part from his lineage. His grandmother and great-grandfather are the only two African Americans featured in the Eminent Mobilians Room at the Mobile City Museum. (And, yes, this museum has a whole room of queen's gowns and trains.)

And it certainly hasn't hurt him that Joaquin Holloway Jr., his father, and Malvina, his mother, are accomplished and gracious hosts. Of necessity, they must also be successful--outsiders probably fail to appreciate the substantial sums entailed in kingships, whose costs can more than rival a high-society wedding or a university education.

SATURDAY NIGHT BEFORE FAT TUESDAY

More evidence of the links among family, community and Mardi Gras is provided at the Comrades Social Club Ball, one of the many grand balls that add glitter to the season. This year, the Comrades are celebrating their golden anniversary, and the ball's theme is "50 Years and Everything Is Golden." Like the other Mardi Gras balls, this one opens with a tableau--a flashy performance that in the Comrades' case highlights selected years over the past half-century and during which the surviving founders of the mystic society are introduced.

As the party gets into full swing--not long before the midnight introduction of the king and queen, which promptly leads the people seated at the many rows of long tables to reach under the tables, pull out brightly colored parasols, leap to their feet, and swarm the dance floor for the pandemonium of the "umbrella dance"--one of Mobile's local television stations interviews the Comrades' founders. The interview takes place in a quiet back room. At first it appears that King Elexis I will be interviewed. This is my first glimpse of the king. He sits entirely at ease, chatting with Kellie Jones, WKRGTV's anchor, as the camera crew sets up lights and tests the microphone. Elexis' court and hangers-on loll about in the background as McCray and the Mardi Gras grand marshal confer against a wall.

Then, for some reason that escapes me, this interview is postponed and Elexis I, McCray and the grand marshal depart. Into the room come the founders of the Comrades. Jones' interview of them reveals that they are united in a deeper manner than mere social organization. David Daniels and Thomas Reed Jr. talk about their World War II service--leaving Mobile as boys and coming home as men. "We organized the Comrades--which came out of two rival organizations, the Big Ten Social Club and the Twelve Sons of Satan--when we returned home after World War II," Daniels explains. "We had grown up and decided that there should be no rivalry, that we should come together as comrades." When Jones asks founder John Finley about the meaning of this "once-in-a-lifetime event," he echoes McCray's thoughts from earlier in the day: "It's about stay strong, be together, love one another, and keep the same ideal that we've had exist throughout our lifetime."