Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney threatened to cancel the New Year’s Day Mummers Parade, which has a 120-year tradition, due to continued racial concerns. He wrote a letter Jan. 21 outlining his recommendations:
"The Mummers Parade is one of our city's most unique and recognizable traditions. However, the behavior of a few participants has once again cast a shadow over that tradition. Mummers groups have made commitments to avoid continued damage to the parade's reputation caused by racial insensitivity and nuisance behavior, but the future of the parade is in jeopardy if Mummers leadership does not make immediate changes to better control the parade and organize yourselves." — Mayor Jim Kenney
Philadelphia's Mummers Parade started in 1901 based off Swedish New Year's traditions and British mummery plays. The annual celebration features elaborate homemade costumes, live music and a parade down Broad Street. The Mummers Parade is the longest-running folk festival in the United States, according to the Billy Penn news site.
Credit: Joseph Kaczmarek
Credit: Joseph Kaczmarek
Philadelphia already has taken strides to reform the parade in recent years.
The parade has a history of misogyny and racism. After repeated complaints and incidents of blackface and brownface as well as LGBTQ+ slurs, the city started offering sensitivity training for Mummers in 2016, according to WITF.
Despite the call for reformation, two men were spotted wearing blackface in the 2020 parade. Their group Froggy Carr was disqualified from future Mummers Parades.
The city takes blackface seriously, according to Councilwoman Cindy Bass.
“If you are found to be in blackface, there is a $75 individual fine and a five-year ban from participating in the Mummers Parade,” she said.
»MORE: Blackface again mars Philadelphia's troubled New Year's parade
Kenney addressed his most recent letter to five leaders in the Mummers Parade. He wrote that he hoped leadership would help enforce better behavior of their members.
"It is therefore critical that you take decisive steps to end this behavior for good. If you fail to make these necessary changes, the parade will forever be known for hatred and bigotry, not the hard work, dedication and celebration that I once enjoyed as a participant." − Mayor Kenney
Credit: Joseph Kaczmarek
Credit: Joseph Kaczmarek
Kenney also threatened to replace the parade with other city-sanctioned New Year’s events if Mummers failed to comply.
Currently, the Mummers Parade is not a taxpayer-funded event, although the City of Philadelphia helps to coordinate the festival. The city applies for permitting documents on behalf of the parade event, according to Kenney’s letter. It also spends about $700,000 a year on police, trash collection and other parade-related expenses.
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